Going Into Ivalice
by da Panda
Summary: When a normal girl is invited into Ivalice, she finds out that she's more than just someone to hang out with her favorite characters...she may be a Legend told from long ago, and she might also find true love. Balthier/OC. Going into Ivalice is back after a long absence!
1. A Crappy Beginning

Fuu was playing her video games, as usual, wasting her life away while she only exercised her fingers while pressing buttons a

Fuu was playing her video games, as usual, wasting her life away while she only exercised her fingers while pressing buttons and moving around characters. She was playing one of the best video games ever created for mankind, Final Fantasy XII. Ever minute, she what admire Balthier's sexiness…sometimes zoom in on his ass for fun…heheh…naughty Fuu…well, naughty me, actually…the name's Fuu…as I continued playing my beloved game, it suddenly shut off.

"What the heck?! I didn't save yet!" I screamed at the TV, scaring my cat half to death. After a long time of cussing at the black screen, it finally lit up in a light blue…scaring me was the main title of the game appearing on the screen.

"**Hello Fuu…**" The screen spoke. Can you believe it, it SPOKE! I blinked and looked around to see if my big sister was just trying to scare me…again. I then looked at the screen; pointing at it, translating as "Did you just talk?"

"**Yes, I did, thank you very much…I am the guardian spirit of this game, my name is Fini. I've watched you play the game, leveling up your characters, watching its video sequences…you name it. Well, since you have played the game long enough, the time has come to show you into the world of the game…you know, bring you inside of it…" **The guardian game spirit named Fini said. At first, I didn't believe any of this.

"Are you on crack? I can't go into the world of Final Fantasy XII! That's so god damn crazy!"

"Then why is your television screen speaking to you? That's pretty crazy, too…"

"Hmm…good point there…" I tapped my finger on my chin and looked up to the screen. "This isn't a joke or anything like that?"

"**Swear on my mother's grave…if I had a mother, at least…fine, I swear on **_**my**_** grave, this is no joke…"** Fini swore on her life, so she must not be joking, I thought.

"Well…I can't go to the FF world like this…" I pointed to my outfit…bunny pajama pants and a loose Rolling Stones shirt…and no bra, how adventurous. Fini sighed.

"**Go change your garments and then return and I will take you to the world…"** Fini said. I gave the TV a thumb's up and quickly sprinted up the stairs to change. I wore a simple outfit…white camisole, black long-sleeved jacket that ended at my ribs, blue jeans, and sneakers (With checkered socks, too!). I also straightened my hair with my hair straightener, put on some powder, eyeliner, and mascara, and put on my favorite choker. Before heading downstairs back into my basement, I decided to bring some stuff to the world, too. I grabbed an old pink backpack from the fifth grade and stuffed it with my deodorant, toothbrush and toothpaste, Neutrogena Wave, make-up, pads ("She" could pop up at any time!), and my iPod! I headed downstairs and finally met up with the TV screen again.

"Took you long enough…"

"Sorry, I was bringing extra materials, too!" I said. Fini sighed, and then the screen turned a dark burgundy.

"**It's time to leave now, Fuu. Hope you enjoy your time…I'll accompany you, too…"** Fini said, her voice fading away as a yellow light shone from the screen, sucking me into the television set without any mercy shown on it. Even though my adventure had just begun, I had already thought that I was dead. Before the thought could continue, I landed butt first on concrete. Opening my eyes, I saw what I saw…the Royal Palace of Rabanastre!! I stood up, tucking back my neck-length long hair.

"Well, this looks pretty exciting!" I said stupidly. Before I could grin at nothing any longer, I heard an explosion behind me.

"Fuu, watch out!" A voice squealed. Before I could even ponder on whom the voice was, a cell-phone tall girl with two antennae popped out of my camisole!

"HOLY CRAP! WHO ARE YOU, AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, HOW THE HELL DID YOU GET DOWN THERE?!" I screamed. The "Pixie" flew out of my cami and flicked my forehead, which actually hurt a bit.

"It's me, you idiot, Fini!" The pixie said. Fini had long, wavy brunette hair, a blue tank top, white short shorts, light blue sandals, and small blue bat-like wings flickering on her back. Oh, yeah, her antennae were also blue. Hey, I know her favorite color now…

"Oh…yeah…sorry about that…so…what's up with everyone?" I asked. More explosions were heard and guards were surrounding the premises down below near the entrance of the palace. Before I heard a reply, something pushed me down onto the ground once more, which hurt just as much as the first time I landed on the evil ground. I looked over and saw the blonde, belly-showing man. Vaan. He looked at me with wide eyes like I had a poisonous snake crawling out of my ear, but he got up and scurried away, nearly tripping himself. Obviously, he was pretty scared.

"What a wimp…" I said aloud. Just for fun, I decided to follow the distressed Vaan. With jogging speed, I caught up to him as we quickly sprinted on a large bridge.

"So…what's with the hurry?" I said panting every few seconds. Vaan didn't answer, which made me growl. Without thinking, I grabbed his wrist and brought him over to where I was standing. "Hey, I'm talking to you!" I said angrily. Vaan looked at me now like I just broke his favorite toy or ripped off his favorite teddy bear's arm. He looked pretty pissed off now.

"I'm really in a rush, let go of me!" Vaan whimpered.

"Not till you tell me what's up, Vaan!" I shouted. _Crap, I said his name_…I thought. Vaan now looked at me like I had spaghetti coming out of my nose. I gave him a stupid smile and an innocent chuckle. Vaan then looked up and began sprinting again, making me let go of his wrist.

"What a bastard! He just runs off when I'm trying to introduce myself!" I spat while looking at Fini, who rested comfortably on my shoulder.

"Stop running!" I heard. I turned around and saw a figure running towards me…I squinted closer and saw the figure's…well…figure…it was the one and only, sexy Balthier!! I gasped and quickly dabbed some blush on my face, and I pushed up my bra a bit more, too.

"It's such an honor to meet you Balth—…" I began to say while I bowed down to him, but he ran right past me! I paused and turned around, angry, as I stomped over to him, since he stopped his running, too. I then saw Vaan, surrounded, as I also saw Fran on her hover blocking Vaan's path.

"You have something that belongs to me…" Balthier said to Vaan, who I know noticed was holding a pretty jewel.

"Fuu, what are you doing?" Fini whispered. I ignored her, stupid pixie, and ran over and stood in front of Balthier. He looked at me oddly and I began bowing again.

"It's such an honor to meet you, Balth—…"

"MORE THIS WAY!" Guards began to shout as they ran towards us. I growled in anger, as I was about to throw my backpack at them.

"Don't interrupt me!" I spat at the guards.

"Damn! Fran, let's move!" Balthier said as he grabbed me and then Vaan! I'm surprised he could carry that much weight…well, I understand myself, because I'm only 89 pounds, but Vaan had to be pretty heavy…! I was in heaven at first…Balthier, resting his hands on me…only if he would touch my—…before I could dream in heaven any longer, I was thrown off of the bridge and into the air! How rude! Vaan was thrown off, too, and he was screaming his lungs out…I don't blame him, I was, too. We both landed hard on the hover bike, thanks to Fran driving it, and Balthier landed on it, too. With Balthier's landing, I fell back into Vaan, and I was hanging on for dear life on the hover while Vaan was hanging on for dear life on my leg, which he was pulling rather hard. Thank God I didn't wear a skirt before I left…

"Hang on, Fuu!" Fini screamed.

"At least help me out here, you bitch!" I screamed at the pixie, how useless she was! Well, I understand that she was as tall as my cell phone and probably wouldn't help much, but at least show some kindness! What made things worse than hanging onto a hover for your dear life was that Balthier thought _I_ asked for help and called him a bitch. Ouch…surprisingly, he grabbed my arm and tried to pull me up, but my jacket was pulling off, showing my shoulder a bit… and I still had a blondie holding tightly on my thigh…and then my ass…probably by accident, but, still, _my ass_…

"YOU PERVERT!" I shrieked. I was trying to shake Vaan off of my leg, but I stopped when the hover was struggling.

"What's going on Fran?" Balthier asked his partner.

"I don't know…it's not heeding me…" Fran said as she tried to gain control of the hover bike.

"Ugh! I don't have time for this!" Balthier grunted, still trying to pull me up from danger…I swear, if I didn't have Vaan clinging onto my legs, things would be much easier…

"I-I'm slipping!" Vaan screeched.

"Yeah, and you're going to take my jeans down with you!" I snapped at Vaan. Although it wasn't his fault that he was going to plummet into the fires beneath us, but still, I was pretty angry during the entire situation.

"Not good!" Balthier said as Fran continued having troubles gaining control of the bike. When we thought all was bad, it was worse. A cannon fired at us, nearly hitting me, and the hover bike lost control completely, and we all headed down into a disgusting sewer…a perfect landing area…yes, I was using sarcasm…I shut my eyes tightly as I thought we were all toast…and I fainted…

--

I woke up when I felt water in a very unpleasant place…I immediately stood up and looked around…oh, the sewer…heaven never looked so grimy, I was expecting daisies and pearly gates…but I felt my heartbeat and my leg had scratches all over it, so I must be alive. I stood up and looked around, and then saw Vaan walking over to Fran and Balthier. Before I walked over, I noticed that I was stepping on something squirming underneath my foot…oh…crap…

"Fini! Are you okay?" I dug into the water and grabbed the pixie game guardian, who was hacking and coughing like crazy.

"You almost killed me, you meanie!" She screamed at me, punching my nose.

"Hit me again and I'll drown ya, ungrateful scum!" I spat at her. I then saw my backpack and picked it up and put it on my back safely and walked over to Vaan.

"Thanks a billion, blondie, now I've got red marks all over my thigh…just…just great, why didn't you just pull off my leg while you were struggling?" I scolded Vaan, who didn't even see me coming towards him. I then glanced over at Fran and Balthier, who stared at me.

"Er…hi…" I said.

"Aren't you the talkative one?" Balthier said, giving a cute smile at me. I blushed.

"Er…uh…blergy-blee…" I said. God, I'm such an idiot. Blergy-blee, what the hell?

"Yeah, you girl, how did you know my name?" Vaan said. I put my finger to his lips.

"Tut-tut-tut, monsieur, the name is Fuu. And I know you because I practically play the game everyday!" I said, clueless that the three main characters even knew that this whole story was truly a video game. Fran looked up.

"Game…according to a story long ago, King Raithwall said, "_The girl in strange clothes shalt be the one who knows all…and the one with hidden powers…_"" Fran stated. I blinked and started bursting out laughing.

"R-Raithwall said that?" I paused because I was laughing too much. "No way! Are you saying that the girl he mentioned is me?" I pointed to myself, and they all nodded.

"I mean, you're clothes are pretty weird." Vaan pointed out.

"It's called an outfit, thank you." I said. These people were nuts.

"Never mind, if she doesn't believe it, I don't believe it." Balthier said standing up. I nodded and adjusted my backpack as I stood beside him. I saw Vaan looking at Fran…perv…

"Not many viera where you come from, thief?" Balthier said.

"It's Vaan…" Vaan and I said at once. We both glanced at each other and decided to not say anything about what just happened…smart boy…

"Fran is special…in that she'd deign to partner with a Hume." Balthier stated.

"Oh? Like a sky pirate that steals through the sewers?" Fran said raising an eyebrow.

"Pirates? You guys are sky pirates? Do you have an airship?" Vaan continued annoyingly asking questions to Balthier.

"It's Balthier, by the way…" Balthier stated. I kept walking beside Balthier, who turned and looked at me.

"Listen you two…if you two want to see your homes again, you do exactly as I say, got it? Myself, Fran, and you two…Vaan and…whatever your name is again…we're working together now, understood?" Vaan nodded, but I wasn't very convinced with Balthier's utter rudeness.

"At least call me by my name! It's Fuu! F-U-U!" I said. Balthier nodded.

"Fuu it is, then…forgive me…" He said, slightly bowing, then walking away. Fran followed behind, then Vaan. I glanced over at Fini, waiting for me to walk away with them, so I did. I was traveling through the sewers…how adventurous…

_To Be Continued…_

_Well, please review if you liked it. If you didn't like it, so be it. Well, I'll update the next chapter soon!_


	2. The Girl with the Hot Pink Skirt!

Chapter Two- The Girl with the Hot Pink Skirt

_Chapter Two- The Girl with the Hot Pink Skirt_

Garamsythe waterway was ickier than I thought when I only saw it on my TV, it was pretty gross…but I wasn't bothered by it that much, since all I pretty much did was stare at Balthier…walking just a few feet in front of you was better than watching him walk on the television screen. Unfortunately for me, though, I was so enchanted just by Balthier's struts that I tripped over something grimy in the water and fell in the disgusting water face first in it! It made my day…now I had eyeliner and mascara dripping down my face, making me look emo. The three turned around…all I heard was Vaan trying to hold in his laugh…Balthier was smiling, even Fran was! (Throughout the entire game, I don't think I've EVER seen the viera smile…ever…). I felt stupid, even when Fini was giggling her ass off right next to my ear.

"Wanna get hurt?" I muttered to her. The stupid fairy ignored me and continued her laughing fest. I stood up and Vaan handed me a random cloth.

"Here, use this." He said. I blinked and took the cloth without saying anything. I used my mini-mirror to wipe off the ruined make-up and applied new ones (Walking and putting on mascara is very difficult, I'll let you know…), and thank the heavens my hair wasn't wet, it would get frizzy and curly and everyone would laugh even more. (I'm not a girly girl; I just like being neat in my appearance…)

"Since we're going to be traveling with each other for a while, we should become friends, you know?" Vaan said, trying his best to give me a smile. I smiled back and nodded.

"Sure thing, blondie." I said while walking past him. It was a long time before we reached a save crystal! I'm shocked they actually use those in real life! I mean, I understand replenishing and healing…but…they actually SAVE. After saving, we reached an area where we heard voices.

"Greeeeeat." I thought to myself. We all hid behind a wall as we continued hearing what was going on. "Fini, check out what's happening…" I said to Fini. She nodded and flew over to where the commotion was. Not long after, she flew back…

"Someone's in distress! And that someone is really the—…"

"Stranger Danger no more!" I sprinted out into the area. Vaan followed me as Balthier rolled his eyes.

"Fools…" He muttered as he loaded his gun with bullets. Fran sighed and followed, with her bow and arrows in hand.

Vaan and I ran to where the woman was standing, she was on a high platform, fighting off imperial guards in big armor. How can they breathe in those, I've always wondered.

"Jump down!" Vaan called, pulling out his arms. The girl looked down at us.

"Come on! We don't have all day!" I hollered up at her. After a few seconds, the girl took a daring jump down right into Vaan's arms. He set her down and the imperial guards surrounded us.

"Time to fight!" Vaan said excitedly as he pulled out a broadsword. I wanted to do the same, but problem was…I was empty-handed. Distressed, I searched around for a weapon in my backpack…toothbrush, no…mascara, no…iPod, no…eyeliner, no…Neutrogena Wave…wait a second, I have an idea! Immediately, I put the Wave's cleansing pad on tightly and the guards surrounded me. I held up the Neutrogena Wave to their faces as I turned it on, making a vibrating sound.

"I have a face cleansing item and I'm SO not afraid to use it!" I shouted at them. The guards all looked at each other, some laughed, and they pointed their swords at me. I grinned and ran up to one, lifted up his helmet, and put the cleansing item right into his eyes! The guard screamed in pain (He was pretty ugly, too…he needed to shave), and he fell back into the water screaming in pain. (Hey, some of the soap in the cleansing pad trickled in my eye not too long ago and it burned like HELL! Imagine if the whole pad went into your eye). I faced the other guards, holding up my trusty Neutrogena Wave, and they all cringed in fear.

"We've never seen such a machine like that…" One imperial soldier said.

"So…odd…and such a rosy color…it threw off Garbuden's attention!" Another guard spoke up. They all bowed down to me. Ha! What cowards! I enjoyed it actually, but I shook my head.

"Fini, do the honors…" I said to my pixie pal. She flew over to the guards and actually MANAGED to get the helmets off of their heads. And one by one, their eyes were soaped.

"Soap you, too!" I said, chuckling evilly. I gave a tiny "Pinky-Five" to Fini, who had some fun doing that to the guards. I ran over to the group, who finished off their guards, too, and met up with the new girl.

"You all right?" Vaan asked the girl. The girl nodded.

"Thank you." She said.

"I'm Vaan, and this is Fuu and—…"

"I love that skirt!" I screeched excitedly. (Okay, again, I'm not the type to be really girly, but I do LOVE the girl's skirt…even though it's hot pink, I don't care!)

"Er…thanks?"

"Hey, what's your name?" Vaan asked the girl.

"Er…Amalia…" She spoke up. I knew she was lying; she was really the Princess Ashe. I gave a little cough and cleared my throat, but I avoided her gaze. Fini glanced over at me.

"She's staring at you funny…" Fini whispered directly in my ear.

"I had a feeling…" I whispered back. So "Amalia" was giving me a look like "How did you know?" but she didn't say anything. I sighed.

"Er…nice to meet you, Amalia!" I put out my hand for a handshake, but somehow, the people here don't really do very many handshakes, so, yeah…she had no clue what the heck I was doing with my hand, making me look like a fool right off the bat. Suddenly, the prettiful jewel Vaan had started glowing like crazy. Balthier raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, now isn't that quite impressive." Balthier said as he stared at the stone's prettiness.

"Don't get any ideas, I told you that it was mine!" Vaan said pulling the stone away somewhere safe. Amalia looked at Vaan sternly.

"Did you steal that?" She asked.

"Yeah!" Vaan said like he was proud of it. I put my hand on Vaan's shoulder and patted it.

"Shall we not continue?" I asked. Suddenly, we heard something in the water…uh-oh, the guys I maimed with my Wave were recovering, and they saw clear vision a little bit now…

"That traitor! We even bowed down to her!" One guard said.

"Report this to our flanks!" The other said. They scurried away before any of us could catch them.

"Darn them!" I mumbled.

"Let's just continue through here until we can find an exit…" Amalia said; I nodded along with her. We continued through the sewers and Vaan and I were talking.

"So, what did you do to those imperial soldiers anyway?" Vaan asked me. I chuckled evilly and got out the Neutrogena Wave, my new best friend, once my enemy when it tried to give me an eye patch that one day.

"This little guy. I'll name it Soapy. Trust me, if he gets in your eyes, you've been Soaped…" I said while turning it on. Vaan blinked and held it up.

"Where did you find this?" Vaan asked. Obviously, he was pretty stunned at just one little pore cleanser.

"Just the pharmacy not far from my house…14 bucks…" I said. He glanced over at me.

"Huh?"

"Nevermind…uh…Yugri's Magicks…100 gil…" Okay, laugh at me; it was the first shop I could think of in my noggin. At least Vaan bought it, though. We continued talking until we ran into a room with a big flaming pony! Being as oblivious as I was, I felt bad for it.

"Someone save the pony! It's on fire!" I shrieked. Fini pinched my ear lobe, which hurt.

"You are so clueless! That's a foe! You need to fight it, stupid!" Fini growled. I nodded my head and watched as everyone got out their weapons…swords…bow and arrow…rifle…NEUTROGENA WAVE! I grinned as the Firemane was heading towards me first, so I was going to put my trusty weapon in its eyes when it burnt the cleansing pad right off. It turned black and crisp and it was no longer soapy…it was more like a burnt marshmallow.

"You son of a bitch!" I screamed at the horse. It was about to blast me with fire, but Fran distracted it with shooting arrows in its leg, so it charged over to her. I sadly put my only hope away in my backpack to see if there was something else in there that would help fight the beast. Nothing seemed to help…all the things I had in my backpack were pretty useless…

"Here! Use this!" Amalia shouted. I looked up and saw Amalia (AKA Ashe! HAHA!) Toss me a ninja sword. I like ninjas, so I was convinced. I held up the ninja sword to the Firemane as it attacked me, I fell back into the grimy water again, but I got up in time for another shot at attacking the beast. After Vaan healed me with a trusty potion, I ran up and stabbed one of its legs, making it hard for the poor thing to walk now. After my small victory of actually attacking the enemy, it kicked my over on the ground and was about to summon a giant fireball to finish me off. I screamed and curled into a tight ball; _Good-bye world…too bad I never got to kiss Balthier yet…_before I could wish myself goodbye from the world, a gunshot was heard and the Firemane vanished, screeching in pain. Everyone stood up and was about to continue along the way, but I stopped them.

"Hey! I've got a surprise for you all!" I said. I got out my iPod and played a song…the victory music! Everyone stared at me and just raised their eyebrows. After the song was done playing, I turned it off and put it back safely into my backpack.

"Stand where you are!" A voice appeared. We turned around and saw tons of imperial soldiers surround us.

"Oh snap…" I sighed. I glanced over at the guys which I Soaped; they probably felt proud capturing me.

"They think of me as some common thief!" Amalia said, disgusted by the word "Thief".

"Better than being a common assassin…" Balthier sighed. They took us away, grabbing us by the arms (The Soaped guys dragging me, of course…) into the streets. Vaan glanced at me.

"Well, doesn't this suck?" I said to him.

"Suck?" Vaan asked in confusion.

"It means it's unfair…it's stupid…it stinks…" I said.

"Well then…THIS SUCKS BAD!" Vaan shouted angrily. Everyone in the streets stared at him.

"There you go…" I sighed, a little embarrassed from Blondie's shouts.

"Wait!" A female voice called out. I recognized the voice, and I glanced over to see the braided blonde girl in a jumpsuit. Penelo!

"Penelo!" Vaan and I said in unison. Penelo looked over at me like I was crazy, then she turned her attention back to Vaan.

"He didn't know what he was doing! Let him go!" Penelo said, but she was held back by imperial soldiers. Balthier handed her a handkerchief, and then left back to us, and Penelo looked at Vaan.

"You promised you would stay out of trouble…" Penelo said in a sad tone of voice. We were dragged away into prison…again, how adventurous to be in prison for the rest of your life…

To Be Continued… 


	3. Barheim Hell

_Chapter Three- Barheim Hell_

"Fuu, wake up!" Fini's screechy little voice called out. I slowly opened my eyes and saw her, standing on the tip of my nose.

"Thank goodness you're okay, those guards really pushed you down hard!" Fini flew up on my shoulder and I sat up. Oh, wow, a prison. Dust was pouring a little bit from the ceiling and all that was around us was piles of dirt and a dead guy. I then saw Vaan walking over to me.

"Good, you're awake. You worried us a bit." Vaan said. I stood up with Vaan's help and glanced at the corpse on the ground. Us? Who else was in here? I didn't see Fran anywhere…

"You speak to dead people?" I pointed at the dead person. Vaan blinked.

"No, Balthier's in here, too, he's right over there…" Vaan pointed at Balthier, sitting on the smaller piles of dirt. He glanced over at me and Vaan, then went back to staring at nothing…some amusement that was. I never really got to talk or introduce myself to Balthier…I just shouted a ton at the Palace and said a few things to him in the sewers. I walked over to him and plopped down right next to him.

"I'm going to take a walk…" Vaan said. I grunted.

"Not a very content place for a walk, Blondie." I said.

"I know, but I wanna see if there's an exit anywhere…just in case Fran doesn't find one." Vaan said.

"Remember what curiosity killed…" Balthier said. Vaan nodded, but left the room anyway, leaving Balthier and me alone together. I was about to take out my iPod out from my backpack, but I noticed that my backpack was gone. The guards were actually thinking smart…but I was distressed, music was my life when I faced boredom! I looked around for it…behind piles of dirt…or did the dead guy have it?!

"Don't bother. The guards took away our belongings, and I don't think we'll be getting them back, either." Balthier said. I sighed. I can't even listen to Flyleaf or Evanescence while I was slowly dying away in a pitiful prison. I sighed loudly and glanced over at Balthier, who was staring at me.

"What is up with you?" I asked him.

"It's nothing…but, what Fran said…you really know what's going to happen to every one of us?" Balthier asked, his face getting close to mine. I blushed and shook my head.

"I thought you didn't believe that." I said giving him a grin. He grinned back.

"I have the right to change my mind." He said.

"Yeah, I guess so…and it is pretty true, to be honest…" I said, putting my hands in my jean pockets. I then felt something in one of my pockets, like a miniature cardboard box. I took it out…Stride forever fruit gum! I forgot that I wore the jeans that had the pack of gum in them. There were 12 pieces left, so I gladly put one in my mouth. Balthier glanced at it, confused at what it was. At first, I thought it would be weird to give a piece of gum to a Final Fantasy character, then I thought it would be something priceless and memorable for the rest of my life...

"Hey, Balthier, want a piece?" I asked. I took apiece out and held it up, offering it to him. He stared at it and, after a brief period of silence, he finally took it. Carefully, he unwrapped it and put it in his mouth, chewing it slowly. "It technically isn't food, you just chew on it." I said. Balthier seemed to like Stride, he just kept chewing. I couldn't help but smile at him, and he saw me grinning like an idiot.

"You're not from this world, are you?" Balthier asked me. This made me feel uneasy, Balthier found out my secret. I finally sighed and stood up.

"No, I'm not. I just know you guys really well…you could probably tell that I was different because of my clothes and my "Trusty Weapon"." I spoke up. Balthier raised an eyebrow and smiled at me.

"Then you truly might be the one Raithwall spoke of long ago." He stated, resting his hands on my shoulders as he stood up. Of course, I didn't believe any of this junk. Raithwall was probably drunk and decided to make something up in a fantasy story…I don't even know why or how he thought it up, again, he was probably just drunk out of his mind. I smirked.

"I am still not believing any of this shit." I said. Balthier let go of my shoulders and put the gum wrapper in his pocket.

"You don't have to…" He said. He walked out of the room to take a stroll, too. I blushed and decided to follow him. We continued to talk.

"So…what else is your world like?" He asked. I blinked; I was pretty stunned that Balthier wanted to know more about me and what my home was like!

"Well…there are schools…they're pure evil, though, they shouldn't exist…there's only one race and that's Humans…you may call them Humes, though. There's also a—…"

"Let me go! OW!" Vaan shrieked out of nowhere. I turned around and saw a room where big, fat, ugly Seeqs were dragging an injured Vaan into a fighting ring. I sighed along with Balthier as we both looked at each other.

"Guess we gotta go save him, huh?" I said.

"What else is there to do down here, anyway?" Balthier asked. He had a point, time for some action…empty-handed style…damn. Balthier walked up to see three fatty Seeqs trying to kill Vaan, who finally woke up from his unconsciousness. Without even thinking about strategies or anything like that, I jumped down into the arena and helped up Vaan, who had a nasty cut on one side of his face.

"Are you okay, Vaan?" I asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine, but these guys are relentless." Vaan said as he looked at the three Seeqs. Balthier suddenly appeared at the top of the ring.

"This place stinks…I was wrong, this isn't a prison, it's a sty." Balthier spoke up. The Seeqs looked pretty outraged and didn't glare at us, I was going to give Vaan a potion, but I completely forgot that our things were gone. To cheer myself up before I was about to detonate in utter frustration, I thought of something clever.

"I can translate Seeq language." I whispered to Vaan. At first, he stared at me like I had "Kick Me!" written in Sharpie on my forehead, but then he got the gist of what I was doing. One Seeq spoke his language, a short sentence.

My fake translation was… "Guess who's a homo, you guys?"

Another Seeq spoke up, a longer sentence this time…

My fake translation was… "Wow, I never knew! No wonder you were gone with Jerome all day last week!"

The last Seeq spoke up, he spoke the longest sentence of all his partners, and he finally ended his everlasting sentence.

My fake translation was… "My sash is green." Vaan was cracking up, as well as I, even though the situation we were in was quite serious, we didn't care. Balthier gave a grin at us and spit out his beloved gum in the other direction.

"I said you're the one who stinks, Hamshanks. Here me now?" Balthier said as he was cracking his knuckles. Finally, he jumped down into the arena and helped Vaan up. I stood up and used all my knowledge I remembered in my karate class to fight the three fatsos…Okay, it was a karate class intended for the ages of six through ten, but I got a black belt in it, so there.

"We each take one…" Balthier said, aiming for the green Seeq. Vaan shrugged and took the red Seeq, making me go for the blue Seeq. Surprisingly, they weren't that tough. I kicked the Seeq's club out of his hands (It was pretty hard to kick in jeans, although they weren't extremely tight) and I punched him right in the pit of the stomach, as unpleasant as that was. He fell back and I stood up on his belly, looking down at him.

"Nice fighting, bitch!" I said as I stomped the pit of his stomach again. His eyes shut, probably because he was unconscious, and I jumped off of the Seeq in pride. I looked over to see that the other two Seeqs were babies and decided to retreat, so they dragged their friend out of the arena, leaving the three of us stuck in it.

"Quickly, this way." Balthier gestured Vaan and I to head over to a dark, shady area near a closed gate. I looked behind the gate and saw Fran's pointy feet standing there.

"Is there a way out of here?" I asked her.

"Through the oubliette, but—…"

"But you sense the mist." Balthier said. Fran nodded. We all looked up and saw a guard, a judge, and Ba'Gamnan the Bangaa chatting angrily about whatever…I didn't want to hear it, it smelled awful in the place and I wanted to find my stuff, I was already missing my beloved iPod. We snuck underneath the gate and headed to the oubliette. While we were passing, Balthier spotted a room full of materials…and I saw my backpack! I sprinted over to my old backpack and made sure everything I packed was inside of it. Yup, including my iPod and Soapy with all of his deadliness.

"Ah! The prison repository of wrested relics and raiments…" Balthier said. (Don't ask how I memorized that line, I just love it WAY too much XD)

"So, our stuff is in here?" Vaan asked. Balthier smiled.

"That's what I said…" I put on my backpack and Fini hopped in one of the black side nets of the backpack, making it nice and cozy for her during our travels.

"Okay, let's get a move on. I'm so sick and tired of standing in this filth." I said. They all agreed with me and we departed from the prison chamber. We snuck past lots of imperial soldiers guarding the whole frickin place until we entered a room…I then saw a shirtless Basch (Ewww…) tied up in a cage. I glanced over and immediately saw Vaan get majorly pissed off. I knew that Vaan thought that Basch killed his brother, but Basch's twin brother killed him, instead.

"Fini, distract them…I see Fran sensing the Mist…" I said. Fini nodded and left her snuggly little pouch, flying to a whole other room, causing a commotion. The guards and judge left, the judge saying something to Basch before leaving, and we entered the scene. Basch seemed startled by our little entrance.

"Who's there?" Basch asked. I admit, I felt bad for the guy. He was super thin, I could see his ribs through his skin…and he was claimed as traitor, but it was a big mistake. I never liked to use Basch that much in my game, he was always the one with the lowest level, but I really felt sorry for him now. I walked over to his cage.

"It's okay, Basch. We're gonna get you out of here." I said. I was being kind to him, you know, soothe the mind, and give him some relief for once. Vaan, however, was starting to hate me for being kind to Basch. Basch looked a little stunned for me saying his name, but all he would think about now was getting the hell out of the place.

"You're not imperials? Thank goodness…for the sake of Dalmasca, get me out of here quickly…" He said. I was really trying to get him out of the cage. Wow for me…but before I jumped onto the cage, Vaan beat me to it, growling in fury.

"DALMASCA?! WHY DO YOU CARE ABOUT DALMASCA?! EVERYTHING THAT HAS HAPPENED IS ALL BECAUSE OF YOU! YOU! EVERY ONE THAT HAS DIED…EVEN MY BROTHER!! YOU KILLED MY BROTHER!" Vaan screamed on top of his lungs. Basch took it rather nicely, though…

"I did not kill him…" He said softly. Vaan growled in anger.

"I'm dropping it…they're coming back…" Fran said as she pulled a lever, slowly dropping Basch's cage, Vaan still clutching onto it in anger. In the game, Vaan probably looked mad in your POV…that was the TV…seeing Vaan extremely angry in person is, seriously, one of the most terrifying things I have ever seen in my life.

"A sky pirate without a sky…" Balthier sighed. With tons of courage, he jumped onto the cage before the cage was lost in the mist. Fran jumped on after. I wanted to jump right after her, but I forgot all about Fini. Right on cue of thinking, she jumped on my head.

"We've got company, Fuu!" Fini shrieked. I turned around and saw three or four imperial guards, all spotting an innocent girl like me.

"Shit!" I shouted. Then, I remembered that I had my weapon in my backpack. With as much agility (And clumsiness) I got out Soapy, my Neutrogena Wave, and put on a cleansing pad to attack the soldiers (I was totally oblivious that I had the ninja sword the princess gave me in my backpack as well, which would've been 40 times more effective than a pore cleanser, but, hey, we all make stupid mistakes when we're in a big hurry, right?). Fini didn't trust my idea, that stupid fairy.

"We don't have any time for this! We're missing our way out of this dumpster!" Fini screeched loudly. She was going to go down herself, leaving me behind, but she ran into my shoulder, catching me off guard, and making me fall backwards into the mists. I was screaming on top of my lungs, plummeting into the dark, mysterious depths of the mist.

Damn pixie.

I continued to scream like crazy as I continued to plunge down to the very bottom where everyone else was probably alive…of course, I had to be the dead one. Surprisingly enough, though, two arms catching me in one piece rescued me. I looked up and saw Balthier, giving me a raised eyebrow and a cute smile.

"I found our young lady…" Balthier said. I liked being held by Balthier, but I was pretty ticked when he didn't address me by my first name…seriously, does he purposely do that just to infuriate the hell out of me or what?

"Fuu…" I corrected him, jumping down from his arms. I saw Fini, sitting cross-legged on a small jagged rock, shaking her head.

"Now the guards will find us…all because someone got carried away…" Fini scowled. She pointed over to where my Neutrogena Wave dropped. It was a little dirty, but I stuffed it in my backpack before anyone found out that the guards saw me and I tried to fight them off all by myself…again, damn pixie. After Fini dove into my backpack net, I saw Vaan running over to Basch, sitting peacefully on a pile of rocks. Vaan was about to punch him, but Balthier drew him back.

"Spare us your quiddities…" Balthier said sternly.

"But he's a…a—…"

"Traitor, I know. You may fight if you want…" Balthier finished what Vaan was going to say. He then turned to Basch. "If you can walk, then come with us…" Basch gladly stood up and followed Balthier into a barely lighted hallway. Vaan seemed a little stunned by Balthier's words to Basch.

"You're taking him with us?!" Vaan asked. Balthier turned around from his walking.

"We could use another fighter." Balthier stated. Basch nodded.

"And you shall have one." Basch said. I adjusted my backpack as I walked besides Vaan, who seem really frustrated and ticked over this whole situation.

"Vaan, just believe the guy, I mean, he seemed pretty serious to you." I said to Vaan. He didn't buy it.

"I don't trust the guy at all…period." I growled, getting pretty annoyed with Vaan's anger.

"Maybe you should, I mean, he's fighting _with_ us not _against_ us." I pointed out. Vaan didn't respond to my words, then I decided that he needed some time alone. I decided to get to know Basch more (I attempted to talk to Fran…let's just say that she doesn't want to socialize much…). I walked right beside him.

"So…Basch…what's up?" I said. Basch seemed slightly confused by my greeting, since he actually looked _up_ at the ceiling. I sighed. "It means what's going on…"

"Your welcomings need improvement…" Basch said as his pace increased, avoiding me. I sighed.

"It's not like _I_ invented the frickin statement." I mumbled. We continued the halls, they were getting awfully dark…not like I was afraid of the dark or anything, I just didn't want a creepy guy with a knife to pop up out of the ceiling or something freaky and terrifying like that. Thankfully for all of us, none of that happened for a while…we finally reached a room with light and a save crystal! We replenished ourselves from minor injuries and looked over to see a light switch. I remembered this part in the game and I also remembered how much I loathed it. Vaan pushed the switch…aaand…nothing happened…spectacular.

"The fuse is out." I said, yawning, knowing what the whole problem was with Barheim Passage. They all glanced over at me, none of them believing me…until Balthier examined the switch closer. He then looked over at me.

"Our young lady was correct…better know her as the one Raithwall had spoken about…" Balthier said. Again, he didn't use my name…damn him.

"One, it's Fuu, and two, I'm still not believing that, Balthier." I groaned. Balthier seemed to get a kick out of my frustration, he decided to keep it up from now on, and I had a feeling that was going to happen.

"Really, it sure seems like you could be her…" He grinned, watching my reaction get more irritable.

"Bloody pirate…" I mumbled (Hahaha, Pirates of the Caribbean! XD I just HAD to do that sometime!!) Basch then glanced over at me and walked over and took my hand.

"You…the one who knows all about the future of our land? That is you?" Basch asked. I blinked.

"Er…well…I don't think, everyone else here seems to think that…" I stated to Basch.

"Then you must know what Dalmasca's future is!" Basch said, kneeling down to me, and also completely ignoring what I said. It was weird…Basch was holding my hand, kneeling down…was he proposing to me?! O.O

"I'm not your type…" I said. Basch blinked but ignored my remark, since he was utterly confused by it, as expected. I then sighed softly. "I have an idea about its future…but, I'm afraid it is forbidden to tell one who lives in Dalmasca…I mean, I could be haunted by Raithwall's ghost…!" I said. Ever since Basch started worshipping me as "Raithwall's Told Legend", I've kind of liked the idea of thinking that I was the real legend. Basch nodded.

"Yes, I understand what you mean by that…" Basch said. Before he stood up, he kissed my hand! I mean, Basch is nice but I wouldn't want my hand to be kissed by him! I mean…sheesh! I immediately found some hand sanitizer in my backpack and used it well. Honestly, I don't even know why I packed the hand sanitizer with me back at home, since it was kind of a last minute item I packed, but I'm glad I did pack it.

After that whole situation, we headed down and saw a stranded merchant by the name of Burrogh. He kind of creeped me out, but I stuck with it and bought some potions and other handy-dandy items to put into my backpack, which was now my trusty inventory. He also handed us a tube fuse, which was terribly nice of him. Since I discovered the switch's problem, I got the opportunity to use the tube fuse to get on all of the lights in the room and to open the only way out of this place…I'm the type that was afraid to activate something electrical, it might electrocute me or just paralyze me…but, fortunately, I didn't get paralyzed. The gate opened, the lights were on, yay for us! We were about to head through the rest of Barheim Passage before Burrogh stopped us in our tracks from continuing.

"If you dare let the lights lower, the passage gets pretty dangerous…make sure you always keep the power at an acceptable amount…" Burrogh warned. I knew that. I've been through hell sitting in my basement going through Barheim Passage, so now I'm actually going to live it…dammit.

So, it really wasn't that bad at first. We saw the mimics sucking away all of the electricity in the wires, getting the rooms darker. As soon as we defeated them (Lemme reword that, Balthier, Basch, Fran, and Vaan defeated them…), the rooms would get lighter again. The paths were long and tiring, my feet were hurting…I needed to get in shape, since I had no athletic ability except self-defense. As we continued the passage, we found another corpse out of fifty…this time; he wore knight's armor. Basch decided that fighting empty-handed and shirtless wasn't a very good idea (Um…Yeahh…), so he put on the armor and took the corpse's sword. This is kind of creepy, but I think Basch had a _tiny_ thing for me, so he was showing off his sword techniques for everyone and me.

"Nice moves there, Captain." Balthier said.

"You mean traitor…" Vaan mumbled loudly. I scowled at him and smacked him on the head.

"You're so rude, Vaan! I mean; Basch has done a lot for us so far! Can't you just accept that already?" I said angrily at him. Vaan had never seen me angry before, so he was pretty speechless and didn't know what to say. After a while, he spoke up.

"He killed my brother! He killed—…"

"Reks…" Basch and I said in unison. Basch, after minutes of worshipping me again, turned his attention to Vaan. "You must understand, young man…I have a twin brother…he was your brother's murderer…"

"A twin brother? Fancy that…" Balthier said.

"And all the pieces fit, so I say it's believable to me…" I said.

"I still don't trust you." Vaan said, turning his face away from us.

"Vaan quit being such an ass!" I snapped. Vaan ignored my insult.

"You don't have to trust me, you could trust your brother, instead. He was a fine soldier. He fought to the last to protect his homeland…no…he fought to protect his younger brother…" Basch said looking in Vaan's eyes. Vaan felt pretty pissed off now.

"You don't know anything!" He shouted.

"I have so had it now!" I shouted louder than Vaan. Vaan wanted to make up an excuse, even though he knew that I was irritated at him.

"Fuu, he's the one who—!"

"SHUT UP!" I screamed. "Just shut up, Vaan! You just feel too sorry for your brother's death! It doesn't mean that you have to believe the first thing someone says in the god damn rumors! Basch didn't kill Reks, I know it!" I was REALLY pissed. Everyone stared at me, a little shocked to see my angry behavior (Some enemies ran away from my anger, too…hahaha…I win…). I sighed and tried to calm myself down, but nothing really worked. "Let's just get out of here…" I said with more serenity. I walked away into a large room while everyone else just stood there.

I stomped into the room in fury, I've never been so annoyed by someone in my life. Vaan was like raising fifteen children in one household except twenty times worse.

"Honestly, can he be more rude to someone who didn't kill his brother?" I said through slightly gritted teeth. Fini bit her lip, I was guessing that she didn't want to push any more of my buttons, and didn't say anything. Suddenly, before I knew it, I felt a huge shadow over me…it felt pretty eerie, too. I looked up, praying to God that it wasn't the Mimic Queen…God was busy with someone else at the moment…it was the Mimic Queen indeed. Immediately, I ran to somewhere where the shadow was not hovering over me, but as it landed hard on the ground, one of its feet landed on my jacket hood and brought me down to the ground. With its leg, it brought me up into the air so I was hanging off of the Mimic Queen so she could look at me and gobble me down for dinner. I immediately began screaming for help. Suddenly, I saw everyone storm in the room, seeing me hanging there like a fish on a fishing hook, struggling to get free to go back into the lake. I was expecting for someone to rescue me, but they were all blocked by tiny mimics…the only one not blocked by a tiny mimic was Vaan.

"Vaan! Help her!" Balthier said as he shot down a tiny mimic. Vaan looked up at me.

"But…she's..."

"Go! Do not fret if she was angered by you, she will be glad for her rescue!" Basch said as he was clashing with his tiny mimic. Vaan nodded and ran towards the Mimic Queen, who kicked him against the wall, knocking him out.

"Vaan!" I shouted. I had to do something…Fini then got out my ninja sword and gave it to me in my right hand. With one stroke, I cut off the tip of the Mimic Queen's leg and was descending rapidly to the ground. I landed with a thud at the hard ground, spraining my wrist. One sprain didn't bother me, though; I was too busy on trying to save Vaan. I ran over to him as fast as I could and immediately gave him two potions. He opened his eyes and saw me.

"Thank God you're okay, Vaan!" I said. I was so happy that I hugged the poor guy.

"Fuu! Watch out! Behind you!" Fini screamed. I stopped hugging Vaan when the Mimic Queen was going to strike both of us. We quickly ran out of the way and watched at what the attack would've done to us when we saw the wall dented.

"What should we do to win this?" Vaan asked me. I remembered what I read in the strategy guide when I was facing the Mimic Queen in the game. Ice magick! I immediately stood up on a fallen rock from the wall, to get a better view of the Mimic Queen, and I wanted to use a blizzard spell on her…problem was…I didn't no how to use magick…damn, that's a problem there. I knew I had to make haste because the Mimic Queen was focused on the ones who weren't busy with her little cronies.

"Fini, magick, help, here, now!" I said through pants and quick wordings. Fini blinked and rubbed her chin.

"I remember now! Think of the element!"

"WHAT DOES THAT MEAN, WOMAN!?"

"It means you have to imagine what the magick attack is like! Like, for example, if you wanted to attack with fire, you had to think of flames or embers!"

"WELL I DON'T WANT FIRE, YOU IMBECILE!"

"Stay calm, good Lord!" Fini said. "Pull yourself together!"

"Well…what would I think of if I wanted to use a blizzard spell…I mean, snowflakes aren't very dangerous, you know…!" I mentioned to Fini.

"Dodge!" Fini yelped. I looked over and dodged another Mimic Queen's attack. I jumped on one of her enormous legs and ran up it (More like climb, though, it was scaly and rough to just walk your way up) so I was now on her head.

"Um…avalanches are pretty powerful!" I shouted down to the pixie, which looked even smaller as a spec floating around the place.

"Then think of it!" She shouted back up to me. I nodded and raised my ninja sword into the air. I thought of an avalanche…destroying everything with its storming power. I then shot my ninja sword up higher…and the blizzard spell came down! It froze the Mimic Queen's legs so it wouldn't attack anyone anymore. I smiled at my work, but I completely forgot that I was standing on the Mimic Queen's head. She shook me off violently and I was, once more, plummeting to the ground. I landed on a tiny mimic, killing it, as I felt my ankle get sprained now. I barely managed to stand up, and the ankle was really making it difficult to walk. I glanced over and saw a tiny mimic heading towards me. All I could do was block its attacks from taking a bite out of me. Sparks flew off of my ninja sword as the tiny mimic was unremitting and kept trying to attack me. It got fiercer after each attack and pushed me down, making the sprain in my ankle hurt when I fell back on it. The tiny mimic was now examining my head…great, an insect was going to decapitate me…some whacky death that was. As it was about to bite down…Balthier came up and shot it from behind! The tiny mimic screeched in agony and pain and it finally disappeared. Balthier offered his hand to me.

"Come on, let's defeat this bloody insect." He said. I nodded and took his hand, helping me stand. The sprain was really hurting, so my running was more like a pitiful jog now.

"Cast blizzard spells, everyone!" I called out. They all nodded and began doing so. Each blizzard spell built up ice around the Mimic Queen, freezing it even more than usual. Suddenly, Fran shot her arrow in it, and it screamed and disappeared…(I used Fran as the grand finale to finish off the Mimic Queen because in my file of the game, she was the one who finished the Mimic Queen off…so…yeah…in case you were wondering…). We were all extremely exhausted and then found the exit of the Barheim Passage. I was relieved as we all saw the light that was leading to the Dalmasca Estersand. We got out into the hot temperatures of the Estersand and saw Rabanastre not too far from where we were. I was extremely excited to see Rabanastre, I never really got to see it other than the Palace and a few streets…now it was the time to see it.

First...we had to get through the Estersand...

Everyone walked fine, marching happily and cheerfully to Rabanastre like a parade was greeting them or something...me, however, I still had my ankle and wrist sprained...well, the ankle was the injury that I was focusing on, since it hurt pretty bad. Every once in a while, I would trip over tall piles of sand and fall down, making it harder to stand up on my own. _They're not showing much assistance, are they?_ I thought to myself. Just when I was thinking that very sentence, Balthier turned around and saw me in the sand. He raised an eyebrow.

"This isn't a sandbox, you know..." He said walking over to me. I gave him a scowl and attempted to stand up, but the sprain jumped back at me and made my fall backwards. He then saw the problem now and, suddenly, picked me up! He was going to carry me bridal style! Balthier showed no signs of struggle carrying me, since I was, just for reminders, only 89 pounds (I probably lost a few during the walk and battle in Barheim Passage). I blushed a ton when I glanced up at Balthier's face...so handsome...every once in a while, a fiend would come up and attack us. I was in no condition for fighting, so I wrapped my arms around Balthier's neck for protection. Hey, I did this on my own, so it was hard not to. Besides, I couldn't resist...

"We're almost there..." Basch said from up ahead. Then I wondered something, what would everyone in Rabanastre think when Captain Basch returned? He was claimed as traitor, so probably wouldn't be a very warm welcome for him.

"Basch, what are you gonna do? Rabanastre isn't gonna greet you with fireworks and balloons, you know..." I said. Basch stopped his tracks and then turned around to grab my hand once more. _If he kisses it...I swear to God..._I thought to myself again.

"You should know, since you know all, Raithwall's Legend..." Basch said softly. Well, I did. I just wanted his answer given to me. Then, I decided to drop it.

"Um...right, stupid question! Doi!" I said smacking my head. Basch turned around and continued the walk to Rabanastre. Fini then popped out of my backpack and landed on my shoulder.

"I sense a human...not a hume, but a _human_." She said quietly whispering to me. I was confused by her words at first. Aren't humes and humans pretty much the same thing? Then, I really thought about it and finally got it. Another person from my world was somewhere nearby...this got me a little worried, for some odd reason.

"Can you make out their appearance?" I asked Fini, who looked quite serious.

"I don't think I can...I'll try though..."

"Is he close?"

"I'm not quite sure...but probably, since I didn't sense it back in Barheim Passage...so, that person is probably in Rabanastre." Fini replied. I nodded and looked ahead...seeing the entrance to the great city of Rabanastre. Fini then flew closer to my ear. "Make a correction to your sentence earlier...it is a girl...funny, though...she's quite small to be playing Final Fantasy XII..." Fini whispered. I blinked.

"How old is _she_?" I asked.

"About five years old, I suppose..." Fini responded after a short period of waiting.

"Either you're examining the wrong person or the little one has good talent..." I said. Fini and I continued chatting, but it was strange that Balthier, Vaan, or anyone else did not notice my fairy guardian. I mean, she was tiny, but everyone is pretty smart, so I was expecting someone to notice my companion.

"Hey...are you invisible or something?" I asked Fini. She had her eyes closed in concentration, so she opened one eye.

"Why do you ask that?"

"I mean, no one else can see you but me, right?"

"Incorrect, anyone can see me...if they are from the human world..." Fini said. I rolled my eyes.

"_That's_ _what I meant, _Fini..." I stated.

"Oh...your wordings need improvement." Fini said. I lightly shook my head, since it reminded me of what Basch said about my welcoming to him. After a couple of minutes, I finally saw a path to the Grand city of Rabanastre! I got pretty excited, since Rabanastre was one of my favorite places in the entire game. We entered into the city...and my God, it was enormous!

_To Be Continued…_


	4. Rabanastre

Chapter Four- Rabanastre

After a long ten minutes of walking around in the Estersand, we finally reached Rabanastre! It was larger than I thought and I was awestruck by it. So many bustling people in the streets, shops, teleport moogles, and so much more other sights that my keen eyes missed in the game! We all reached the save crystal and it healed my sprained ankle and wrist and all of my other injuries; even some blood stains on my clothes! Basch kept safe behind Fran, who was the tallest out of all of us in the group, so people wouldn't suspect him and throw him back in jail.

"I'll be off." Basch said, bowing to me. "Take care, Legend." He said. I blinked and waved goodbye to him.

"You take care yourself! Don't get caught!" I said as he walked away. The rest of us then looked at each other. "Now what?" I asked them. Fini then whispered into my ear. "_Fuu, we need to find that human child!"_

"Let's all stay low, we rest in Rabanastre." Balthier said. I jumped up and down, throwing Fini off of my shoulder.

"Yes! This will be a blast!" I shrieked excitedly. Balthier cocked an eyebrow and then left with Fran. I knew where they were heading, and for fun, I decided to follow them. "Catch you later, Blondie…" I said, waving my arm up in the air. He seemed a little confused but decided to leave anyway.

"Fuu, think seriously here! We need to find the human girl!" Fini hissed in my ear. I shrugged my shoulders.

"What for? Is she a so-called "Legend" too?" I asked.

"I don't think so, suspecting that she is only five years old, but, she might be some use to us." Fini said. I seemed a little confused. Why would we need a little brat to take along our journey? I also didn't really see how the brat would be of use to us on the journey anyway…but I actually put up with it and decided to find this twerp anyway. I started walking in the bazaar, hoping that I saw a little girl with present time clothes there. Nope. I then checked every store, but there was no sign of a human anywhere, according to Fini. I decided to check out the Sandsea, which smelled like something was being grilled. I opened the door and saw bustling crowds, people drinking away, and hunters accepting the hunt boards. I looked up to the second floor and saw Balthier and Fran with drinks in their hands. _Maybe they have a glass of water or a soft drink in here or something…_I thought. I walked up the stairs and plopped down next to Balthier (Again, I tried to sit down next to Fran…but she just gave me a creepy look…).

"So, the young lady joins us." Balthier said after taking a sip of his drink. I scowled at him.

"It's _Fuu_." I corrected him. Honestly, the whole thing of him calling me "The Young Lady" was getting old already, even though he only did it three times so far, it got really annoying. Balthier ordered around a Bangaa waiter and told him something that I couldn't hear, because there was so much bustling and noise in the place! I decided to get out my iPod and started listening to Linkin Park's "Breaking the Habit". Balthier stared at it in confusion and awe, as well as Fran, who still had her same expression on her face as she stared at it. I glanced up and saw them staring at my nano, totally confused at what it was…hey, they were in a whole different world, so I don't blame them being confused.

"This is called an iPod." I said, taking out my sea green ear buds. I handed them to Balthier first, because Fran didn't want anything to do with the ear buds for some outlandish reason. Balthier seemed to like "Breaking the Habit", since I saw his finger tapping along with the song on the table.

"Such peculiar music…this device, it plays songs?"

"Yup…it's from my—" I started to say, but I didn't want to spoil my secret to Fran, who I thought was still unaware to my different being than a being in Ivalice. She then glanced at me, looking straight in my eyes.

"Your world…I know…" She said. I then felt a little uncomfortable again…but I shook it off.

"Um…yeah…that's right…" I said softly. Balthier handed me back my ear buds, which I heard Lily Allen singing, "Smile". I then saw the Bangaa waiter who Balthier spoke to clash down a glass of a deep orange drink. I looked down at it and blinked.

"Er…what is this?" I said to Balthier, pointing down to the drink.

"Your beverage…" He said as he took a sip of his. I then took a sniff of it…oh…my…God…I recognized a terrible smell like this drink…

"I can't drink this! This is beer!" I said loudly. Balthier and Fran glanced at each other and looked back at me.

"Problem?" Fran asked. I looked over at Fini, who was sitting on my iPod, not knowing what was going on, and then I went back to the situation.

"It has alcohol in it, I can't drink until I'm 21!" I stated.

"How old are you now, then?" Balthier asked me.

"14, that's WAY too underage in my world." I stammered. Balthier drank his beer and set it down.

"I started drinking when I was 14, too…so there." He said calmly. I sighed and looked down at the glass…

"Well…maybe just a sip won't hurt…" I sighed before I took the most daring sip I would ever take.

**25 minutes later…**

I was completely gone. I chugged down another drink…my seventh one. As I completed it, I exhaled and started laughing like crazy. I was entirely drunk.

"OMG, IDK, BFF!" I said loudly. People were staring at me in weirdness, but I didn't care about them…I was too lost to do anything now.

"Settle yourself." Fran mumbled, slightly embarrassed about my ways. I didn't listen to her, though. (Drunk or not, you better listen to Fran…you don't wanna piss her off…) I leaped out of my chair and saw something I wouldn't expect in Rabanastre…an electric guitar! (Frankly, I am over 100 percent sure that they don't have electric guitars in Ivalice…but, hey, since this is a fiction, I can dream, can't I?) I was playing one, so I thought about some entertainment in the room. It was red and very smooth…but I couldn't remember much of it because I was dizzy and crazy. I picked it up and looked over at Fini, who was trying to get me to control myself.

"I think I have my gee-tar pick down dere…" I said as I hiccupped and pointed at my backpack. Fini sighed and dug through my backpack and got out my indigo guitar pick. I immediately began strumming the guitar and was playing "Falling Down" by Atreyu, and badly singing it, too. Somehow, this attracted audiences. They all clapped for me and I continued playing the song. I was rather surprised that I was not sober and was playing like a million bucks.

_"It's in your head! All the voices mistaken! Shake it off! Shake it off! We're all dying in the end!"_ I sang. I kept on singing along until an employee took me away and placed me back at my table, and I was laughing hard. Balthier then took my guitar pick and poked my stomach with it. At first, I thought it tickled, but then it started to hurt.

"Ouch!" I screamed…and, surprisingly, I came back to my senses! I blinked and looked down at Fini, listening to my iPod (She had her whole face next to one ear bud since the ear bud was bigger than her own head.) and raised her eyebrows.

"Nice going, Fuu…" She mumbled. I giggled innocently…even though I didn't remember much about my insanity a few minutes ago. I looked over at Balthier, who was looking at my indigo guitar pick…and my only one. I wanted it back.

"Balthier, that's mine!" I said. I stretched out my hand to grab it, but he clasped it in his fist and put it in his pocket.

"I might need to use it again…you'll never know when you'll go impractical once more." Balthier said, slightly grinning. Fran rolled her eyes…I looked down to pick up my iPod, until I saw Fini fly over to the first floor…I looked down and saw a little girl…wearing an overall dress, red-striped long sleeved shirt, and sneakers…! It was the little brat Fini mentioned to me in the Estersand! I clumsily ran down the stairs and ran over to the girl, who could actually see Fini. Yup, this had to be her.

"Excuse me…" I said. The girl looked over at me. Her long black hair was tied in a high ponytail…and my God, she was so darned cute! "Are you a human?" I asked her. The girl nodded. I was surprised that she knew "the code". Was she really an obsessive final fantasy gamer after all?

"I really don't know how I got here…I just saw my big brother push me in the TV back at my house…" She said with her cute little voice. She reminded me a lot like Mariko from Elfen Lied, except she didn't have 26 lethal vectors.

"Your brother pushed you in the TV?!" I exclaimed. How discourteous. I got it now…she was forced into the world instead of her big brother! That was kind of sad…

"Uh-huh…he said "Go on, my friend will give you answers you need…" yeah, that's what he said." The girl said. She blinked and then bowed. "My name is Yuko, by the way. And this is my brother's game guardian, Misa." Yuko then pointed to a small pixie female. She had black hair with her bangs dyed turquoise, she also wore a black corset top with a matching mini-skirt and high boots. Her eyes were also turquoise like her bangs and her antennae, and her wings were also bat-like, just like Fini's. She nodded her head at me then looked at Fini, who seemed a little shocked.

"Misa of game 4,879…so we meet again…" Fini mumbled as she twitched. Misa gave her a smirk.

"Fini of game 26,403…nice to see you looking in excellent health…" Misa said. I looked over at the two pixies, Fini twitching madly and Misa grinning madly.

"What's up with you guys?" I asked them. Fini sighed.

"Misa…we met each other long ago…and that girl…is evil…" Fini muttered. I still didn't get it.

"What does that mean?" I asked scratching my head.

"We used to be partners a couple of years ago, making sure the games around the world were all the same, et cetera…I used to pull the best pranks on her, it was so much fun." Misa smiled widely and she snickered, making Fini growl in ferocity. Yuko looked over and saw Fran and Balthier walking down the stairs to where I was.

"Your friends?" Yuko asked. I turned around and saw them looking at Yuko, then turned back to her and took her hand.

"Balthier…Fran…this is my new friend, Yuko…" I introduced Yuko to them. Yuko waved them a hello and bowed her head. "Do you mind if she joins our little group?"

"She's not from this world either, isn't she?" Fran asked me. I sighed and shook my head.

"You're correct…look, her elder brother pushed her into Ivalice on purpose, so she doesn't know what to do around here. We have to do something to get her around the place, right?" I asked them. Balthier looked over at Fran and shrugged his shoulders.

"Do as you please…" Balthier said as he walked up the stairs to his table again. Fran nodded and returned to the table as well. I looked down at Yuko, who gave me a small, satisfying smile.

"Thank you." She said. I gave her thumbs up and took her hand as I led her up the stairs to the table. I kept my hands off of the beer this time…I listened to my iPod, this time it was "That's What You Get" by Paramore, until a Bangaa walked over to our table in fury. It was Migelo!

"Are you Balthier?" Migelo asked Balthier. Balthier looked up and nodded.

"I am. Why do you ask?"

"Then you must be the one those bounty hunters spoke of!" Migelo exclaimed. Balthier raised an eyebrow.

"Maybe it is a misunderstanding…" Balthier said. I turned down the volume on my iPod to continue listening to the conversation. I then noticed that I packed a couple bottles of water in my backpack, so I gave one to Yuko, who gladly gulped it down.

"Misunderstanding?!" Migelo stammered. I then saw Vaan walking up the stairs, Basch following behind him. "What I am understanding is that they took away Penelo because of you!" Migelo screeched. Vaan gasped and walked over to Migelo.

"Penelo got taken away!?"

"Oh, Vaan! They've taken Penelo! They said to go to the Bhujerba Mines!" Migelo said to Vaan, who was terribly worried for his friend.

"It's Ba'Gamnan. He was in Nalbina." Fran spoke up. Migelo turned to Balthier.

"If anything were to happen to that sweet child—!"

"Settle down, lil' doggies…" I said in a strange accent. I stood up from my seat and wrapped up my iPod and tucked it away in my backpack. I turned to Migelo. "Penelo will be fine, trust me on this. All we have to do is go up to Bhujerba and rescue her in the Mines. Piece of cake…don't worry, Migelo, we will bring her back." I said. Migelo's eyes widened when I said his name. He then whispered three words to himself…

"The Legend exists…" He bowed down to me and I raised an eyebrow. Yuko glanced over at me, questioning why I was called "Legend". I also saw Misa nod her head in approval, like I really was this Legend.

"Um…sure…why not?" I said. Immediately, the whole Sandsea grew silent and stared at me. Some dropped their glasses on the floor while others just stood motionless. After a while of silence, they all bowed down to me. I looked confused, undeniably confused. They totally had the wrong person…I think…I really didn't know if I was this Legend or not…I mean, I knew pretty much everything about Final Fantasy XII, but it doesn't mean that Raithwall spoke of me. It almost seemed impossible…it had to be…besides; this was never mentioned in the game…right? Right?

"Um…let's leave…" Misa mumbled to me. I nodded along with the pixie and I left, everyone still bowing down to me like I were a princess or something. Everyone else followed me outside and Balthier glanced at me.

"The young lady has grown quite popular these days." He said to me. I rolled my eyes, not even bothering to correct him this time. Balthier then looked over at Vaan, totally worried about Penelo's kidnapping. "We'll take my airship…let's go to the aerodome." He then walked west to the aerodrome's location, Fran following him. Basch and Vaan caught up with them and I looked over to Yuko.

"Do you wanna come with us, Yuko?" I asked the girl. She nodded.

"Anything to not be so lonely…" She said. We both locked hands and nodded as we walked behind the group of adults. Vaan turned around and saw Yuko.

"Who's your new friend?" Vaan asked me. I looked down at Yuko.

"This is Yuko, she'll be accompanying us from now on." I said. Yuko bowed to Vaan. "Yuko, this is Vaan, and that's Basch with the beard…" I pointed to Basch, who was walking behind Balthier. Misa landed on Yuko's head and kept staring at me like I had an unidentified insect crawling on my arm, and she was studying it. I looked down at her, her bright turquoise eyes glistening in the sunlight. "What's up?" I asked the other fairy. Misa was slightly startled but shook her head.

"What that Bangaa said in the Sandsea…about you being the Legend…you might be the one…" Misa said. I stopped my tracks and shook my head.

"No way. I have no qualifications to be that role." I said to her.

"Yes you do. You know everyone's names, locations all around Ivalice, et cetera. Besides, you _do_ have atypical clothes on." Misa pointed out.

"Not listening!" I said in a singing tune as I kept up my pace. Fini rubbed her temples.

"It also said in the Legend of Raithwall, the Dynast-King, that the Legend had a marking on her back…markings similar to an angel's wings." Fini said. Misa nodded and started to lift up my camisole!

"What the hell?! Stop that!" I screeched. I shook off Misa, who landed on a large vegetable in a stand. She rolled her eyes and retreated back to us and landed on Yuko's shoulder. After about five minutes of taking a stroll, we reached the aerodome. It was quite crowded inside, so I clutched onto Yuko's hand and guided her through the bustling crowds to where Balthier was headed. We finally entered a room where a bunch of lights turned on. I walked beside Vaan who was awestruck by one object in the room…an airship.

"This is the Strahl." Balthier said proudly. My eyes sparkled as much as Vaan's. I remembered this scene in the game, but my Lord, the Strahl was so…so awesome! I then saw three mechanic moogles march out of the Strahl, one squeaking in approval. Vaan and I ran to the ship in perfect unison and were both barely drooling on just the entrance to the inside of it.

"This is sick!" I exclaimed loudly. Vaan looked over to me and raised an eyebrow. "Uh, sorry…it means it's cool." I said. Vaan still looked confused, but he got over his confusion as he continued admiring the airship. Balthier and Fran walked on the airship, Yuko following as Fini and Misa fluttered behind her. Vaan immediately rushed on, wanting to fly on the Strahl, Basch following behind. I smiled and finally got on as the door automatically closed behind me.

"Fasten your seatbelts everyone." Balthier said as he sat in one of the two control seats in the front, Fran taking the controls. I sat in a seat and placed Yuko on my lap, since there weren't enough seats for everyone. I put on my seatbelt and was ready for takeoff. I felt the floor vibrate beneath me as the Strahl slowly flew up in the air…then…when we reached the sky, we launched up into the sky like a flash of lightning! It was quite comfy, so I got out my iPod again and listened to "Fully Alive" by Flyleaf. Just a little more to the floating city of Bhujerba!

To Be Continued…


	5. Little Know It Alls!

Previously on "Going into the World" Previously on "Going into the World"

_Fuu is a 14 year old teen girl who happened to be playing Final Fantasy XII one day in June…but then she discovered that her "Game Guardian", a pixie girl named Fini, told her to travel into the land of Ivalice, the setting to the video game. With a backpack full of trusty items and the clothes on her back, Fuu and her pixie friend Fini travel into the game. They meet Vaan, Balthier, and Fran, and then, later, they meet Basch. Just escaping from prison and deadly passages, the party retreated into Rabanastre where they stood low, and Fini discovered the presence of another being from Fuu's present time. The girl is named Yuko and is only age five and claimed that she was pushed into her TV by her older brother…so now Fuu and Yuko, with her game guardian Misa, now team up together as news approaches the now relaxing group…Vaan's friend Penelo was kidnapped and being held in the Lhusu Mines in the Floating city of Bhujerba. The party travels to Bhujerba via airship and will soon rescue Penelo…hopefully…_

_During all of this, Fuu was mentioned as a Legend the Dynast-King Raithwall spoke of many years ago, saying that the being had the ability to know all and have an inner power that could be hazardous…but could Fuu be this Legend in the first place? And if so, what hidden power would she have? And could Fuu fall in love with Balthier more than she expected? Maybe those answers will be solved in this chapter!!_

Chapter Five- Little Know-it-alls

I really can't describe the rest of the trip on the Strahl, it wasn't that long until we reached the floating city of Bhujerba, which was amazing like Rabanastre. We landed soundly into the aerodome of Bhujerba and got off of the Strahl. We then went into the light of the city and walked around. We stepped onto a large bridge and looked ahead.

"The Lhusu Mines are up ahead…" Balthier said pointing to the way to the mines.

"You have some business in the mines as well?" A voice came up. I knew whom exactly that voice was…Larsa…who was disguising himself as a boy named Lamont. I glanced at Larsa…who was actually my height. I was expecting him to be a lot shorter than me, since I was only about five feet tall, but he was actually a few inches taller!

"Really? What's your name, boy?" Balthier asked.

"Me…oh, uh…I'm Lamont." Larsa stuttered, thinking of a last minute disguise name. To me, that name sounded like a dessert, it always has sounded like that since I began playing the game. I almost giggled a bit, but Fini shut me up by pinching my lips together, making me look like I had duck-like lips.

"Well, then, let's move forward." Basch said as he headed, well, forwards, of course. Everyone agreed and followed Basch to the Lhusu Mines as I, being me, stayed at the very back. Bhujerba was pretty cool, I must say, and it amused me a lot. I secretly bought some potions and stuff to put in my backpack before I caught up with the gang to the mine's entrance. We went inside…and I was almost maimed by killer bats. Surprisingly, Larsa jumped in front of me and took them down instantly. I stared at the kid and didn't say a word and he turned around, bowing.

"What may your name be?" He asked politely. Sheesh, this kid had great manners.

"It's Fuu." I replied.

"Fuu? That's an interesting name…" Larsa said, putting his finger on his chin, rubbing it slightly.

"Something wrong with a girl's name, buddy boy?" I asked him a little rudely, but he gave me a smile.

"Not at all, I was just conjecturing," He replied. Then he walked closer to me. "Legend." I glanced at him, quite shocked that he figured out my ability to know all without even me telling him or slipping it out from my big fat mouth! He walked away behind the group as I slowly followed him.

"That kid sure is a smarty pants, eh?" Misa asked me.

"More like a smart ass!" I whispered to the game guardian.

"Why? What did he ever do to you?" Fini asked.

"I have no effin' clue, he just makes me feel weird."

"Keep an eye on him, Fuu, he may be on to you." Yuko said as she sat in my backpack. I nodded, agreeing with the little girl that was now a good friend of mine. We continued through the mines, walking into some fights here and there, but not as much as fights encountered in the game. We then reached inside an empty cavern; Larsa stepped up and rummaged through his pocket.

"This is what I came here to see." He said. He then pulled out a prettiful jewel just like Vaan had, which I remembered what it was called, Magicite.

"What is that?" Vaan asked.

"It's Nethicite. Manufactured Nethicite." Larsa, or "Lamont", replied.

"What's the difference between Magicite and Nethicite?" I asked him. Everyone stared at me.

"The young lady doesn't know?" Balthier asked me, slightly smirking. I gave him a glare, once again; he didn't address me by my name. Of course, this made me slightly pissed off, but Larsa cleared his throat to get my attention back towards him again.

"Unlike regular Magicite, Nethicite absorbs Magickal energy. This is the Fruit of research into the manufacture of Nethicite. All at the hands of the Draklor Laboratory." Larsa replied. He then stepped in closer into the cavern.

"And this is where the Laboratory is getting the Magicite."

"Is your errand all attended to, then?" Balthier asked the little kid.

"Yes, it is. I must thank you all, but I shall repay you all later—…"

"No, you shall repay us right now. We have too much in our hands to go on holding your own. So, where exactly did you hear this little "Fairy Tale" about the Nethicite, hmm? And how did you get that sample that you are carrying? And what do you know about Draklor Laboratory?" Balthier put his hands on Larsa's shoulders, and me being a worrier, I thought Balthier was going to strangle the kid.

"Balthier, stop it—!"

"You've kept us waiting, Balthier!" A scratchy voice echoed throughout the cavern and the group faced toward where the voice was coming from. Three Bangaa…oh boy, that means Ba'Gamnan and his little cronies were here!

"Look what uglies dropped in today." I mumbled to Fini, Yuko, and Misa…but unfortunately, the group of bounty hunters heard my comment to them. Ba'Gamnan began running his buzz-saw staff and glared at me.

"We shall cut you up first, little girl." Ba'Gamnan said fiercely.

"Where's Penelo?" Vaan busted in through my little "Argument" with the bounty hunters.

"The girl? We let her go and she went running off, crying like a babe!" Ba'Gamnan laughed. "But, I think we'll replace her since we found an even prettier one, maybe she'll taste nice, too!" He pointed at me and I shuttered and glared at them.

"If you lay one finger on me, I'll whoop your ass you mother—…" Larsa interrupted my foul language when he threw the Nethicite straight into Ba'Gamnan's eye, making him yelp in pain. We pushed him and his minions as we retreated out of the caverns. Ba'Gamnan got up and pointed at us, running like teens on a track team.

"After them!" Ba'Gamnan screeched.

We ran a lot, running in places, retracing where we were before we sprinted out. Ba'Gamnan somehow managed to catch up with us, but we didn't dare slow down. I starting cramping in my side from running and my breathing was getting shorter and I was getting really tired. I then realized that I didn't have anything to eat ever since I came into Ivalice…not good. This was really slowing me down, to the point where I was in the back of the group.

"What are you doing, Fuu? Run, on the double, too!" Fini screeched into my ears. I was soon jogging, but that didn't make anything better at all.

"Can't you see that I am tired as hell here?"

"Ignore your wasted energy, keep moving! They're right behind us! Look!" Yuko pointed at the bounty hunters catching up to me. I gasped and tried to keep up with the gang, but my feet were hurting like crazy.

"There's one! Get her!" Ba'Gamnan screeched. I felt sweat drip down from my forehead and I slowed down to jogging again. I then remembered what I did at away band camp, waking up at 5:20 in the morning to run around the college campus to win a T-shirt…I remembered what I did. I saved my energy for a bit and ran super fast at the very end.

"Fuu! You're jogging! They are totally going to catch up to us now!" Misa screamed. Ba'Gamnan was at the point where if he stretched his arm, he would grab my hood on my hoodie, but that's when I sprinted hastily. Ba'Gamnan fell from his own two feet because of his attempt to grab me and I was soon running like I was in a race. I ran past everyone else and made it out of the mines first, dropping dead-like to the ground. Balthier slightly kicked my side.

"I see you're worn-out." He said, sounding like he didn't even jog at all. I looked up weakly at him and gave him a glare.

"What does it look like to you, smart one?" I snapped at him. Balthier gave a chuckle and everyone else caught up, Basch pulling me off from the ground. Fran then looked at everyone.

"It would not seem they follow. We have finally lost them."

"Thank Jesus." I muttered. Everyone then looked over to their right and saw a judge and…Penelo!

"We found her wandering outside of the mines." The judge said.

"But I was kidnapped!" Penelo shouted.

"Silence, girl!" The judge interrupted her.

"If it _is_ a crime to wander alone outside of the Mine's, then I am guilty as well." Larsa appeared out of no where and spoke to the Judge. He then faced towards a really old guy in yellow robes. "Marquis. Can your estate accommodate another guest?"

"Why not?" The Marquis said.

"Judge Ghis, I shall heed your counsel. I shall not go anywhere without any accompany." Larsa said to the Judge. Larsa and Penelo walked away together, and we all looked at each other.

"What is Penelo doing? And what is up with that Lamont guy?" Vaan asked me.

"His name isn't Lamont." I stated. "He's really Larsa Ferrinas Solidor…he is the fourth son to the Emperor Gramis…and also the younger brother to—…"

"Vayne Solidor." Yuko said…and almost shyly. I nodded my head and looked at Vaan, and seemed pretty surprised by my words.

"That kid?"

"Don't fret. It doesn't seem like he would harm her." Fran reacted.

"Nobody knows men like Fran does." Balthier said. I gave him a slightly disgusted look, thinking those words the wrong way, like my usual self would.

"Hentai?!" I shrieked. Balthier gave me a confused look.

"Excuse me?"

"SEX?!" I shrieked even louder than before…loud enough that some people stared at us. "Er…I mean…these are nice sets of food, huh?" I pointed to a random stand of food. It made me to some extent hungry, too.

"That man, Marquis, announced my execution two years ago. If he found out about me still alive, his position would be find compromised." Basch stated.

"No one would be ecstatic if they found you." Balthier said to Basch.

"Hey, but I've got an idea." Vaan said. He then stood in the center of a large crowd and put his fist on his chest.

"I AM CAPTAIN BASCH ROSENBURG OF DALMASCA!" Vaan shouted loudly. We all raised an eyebrow, but I ran up to him and put my fist on my chest as well.

"AND I AM HIS…WIFE…AND WE HAD LOTS AND LOTS OF BABIES! YEAH! AND I'M PREGNANT AGAIN; I JUST FOUND THAT OUT A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO! WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THAT, FOLKS?" Sincerely, I didn't know why the hell I joined in with Vaan, but I just felt like it…I guess to get attention and crap. They all stared at us like we were nuts…but they believed it! We all smiled at the three older members of our group and they all seemed slightly interested, but mostly grossed out by my little "outburst".

"This will actually do. The more clamor, the better…and for the girl's sake, eh? We'll be right here where you need us, okay?" Balthier said.

"Can we trust you two?" Basch asked us. I came up to Basch and clung onto his arm.

"Of course you can, honey bun…cupcake…sweetie pie…corn dog…butterscotch…the anti-sausage…you get it, "hubby"…" I said as I let go of Basch's arm and he slightly blushed. Yuko decided to stay with the others and I ran off with Vaan and we kept shouting out our fake identities…but then someone got really into our lies and told us to come with them.

"This is good…is it?" I asked Vaan.

"Honestly, I am clueless."

"Same here…" I agreed. We were then led into a room and we sat down in chairs, surrounded by very angry people…we were now buttered toast.

_To be continued in chapter six!_

_Okay, there are two things I need to explain…one is the thing with the "Anti-Sausage"…that is my random nickname in band camp. I hate it, but I deal with it as my fellow clarinets call me that sometimes. I decided to add that in into Basch's little "Nickname" thingy. And two, I keep changing the genre. It would be humor, to romance, to action/adventure, to all this other crap. I can't decide what it should be, but its all three that I listed…and this will probably answer Fuyuchi's question in her previous review. There is a lot of romance in this fic, but it won't happen just yet, you have to read the chapters to find them…like Waldo in the crowd of people! So, please, stay tuned for the next chapter and PLEASE REVIEW!_


	6. Basch Gets Pwned!

Fuu: Hey peoples, whats up

_Fuu: Hey peoples, whats up?_

_Basch: Not that greeting again…_

_Fuu: What's wrong, honey?_

_Basch: -blushes- Don't start with that, again!_

_Fuu: Why not?_

_Balthier: Um…what the young lady here was trying to exclaim is that she does not own Final Fantasy XII, its settings, characters, or plot. She would own a lot of treasure if she did. But, she does own herself, Yuko, and these so-called "Fini" and "Misa" girls._

_Misa: He can't see us…_

_Fini: Yeah…pity for us…_

_Fran: Let's begin…Vaan and Fuu got taken away, remember?_

Chapter 6

**Basch Gets Pwned**

We were taken in a large room and sat down in chairs and I looked over at Vaan, who gave me a confident, courageous little grin before a man spoke up to another man.

"This is he, Sir. He claims to be Captain Basch…"

"Really? And the girl?"

"His wife…who's pregnant so be restrained with her." The man said. I held in some laughter, but my laughing snort brought attention to them. I looked up and saw them staring at me. I gave them an awkward smile.

"Inside joke?" I said. They both rolled their eyes and brought concentration back to each other.

"But, why this boy, why Captain Basch Ronsenburg? And this girl…she looks too young…why would she be his spouse? An explanation is due, and I will hear it! The Empire's hounds grow passing bold indeed." A man said.

"A shame if they learned the Marquis trafficked with the likes of you." I turned around to see who spoke those words and saw Balthier! Thank the Lord he was here, because these guys were totally confused…I think.

"Balthier! Yay!" I squealed blissfully. I wanted to end the wife masquerade already…it was getting pretty old now. Fran and Basch, carrying Yuko piggyback style, with Fini and Misa plopped on her head, came in as well behind Balthier.

"Agents disguising as guides? And a hideout behind a tavern? Not earning much points for originality, are we here?" Balthier said. This angered all the men.

"Now you've done it!" Said a Bangaa man, the man who brought us inside.

"Wait!" The man, I remember his name now, Havharo, said. He put his arm out in front of the Bangaa and walked slowly towards Basch. Walking slowly as in a walk, not like how the characters in "Harvest Moon: A wonderful Life" walk…now that's pretty freaking slow.

"So Captain Ronsenburg is still alive, now is he?" Havharo said to Basch. Yuko looked over at Basch, who nodded. I was pretty dazed during this part…I thought about how I _would've_ married Basch and had lots of kids…oh Lord…bad thoughts…but they came anyway…

My Thoughts…

_The camera shows a pink mushroom house…don't ask, but it's a house in the shape of a mushroom, just like how Spongebob Squarepants lives in a giant pineapple. I am inside; my hair slightly grew longer, long enough to make my ponytails less retarded looking. I was in a small but homey kitchen, making something that smelled good…fish? Yeah, I think something with fish and butter. The white front door opens…and in enters Basch, shaven with work clothes on. _

"_Honey, I'm home!" Basch says merrily. I turn off the stove and run over to Basch as I assist taking off his work jacket._

"_How was your day at work, dear?"_

"_It was fine. The paycheck came in today."_

"_Splendid!"_

"Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!" Four voices call out. From upstairs, four young children come downstairs and hug their daddy. I smile. There are two sons and two daughters; their names are Marco (Middle Name: Edward), Madison, nicknamed Madi (Middle Name: Julia), Ricky (Middle Name: Jasper), and Kara (Middle Name: Devan).

"_We picked raspberries today! They bloomed yesterday!" Kara said._

"_Really now? We'll have to use them for our fruit salad." Basch said. The kids all cheered and ran upstairs again. I looked over at my husband and grinned. _

"_Today is so swell, gorgeous, pretty…AND YOU TURN ME ON!" I ran over and jumped onto him...we stayed in the bedroom for hours…a month later, I was pregnant…again…_

"OH MY GOD!" I screeched. My thoughts were over. Everyone stared at me, and then ignored me after the awkward silence. They continued conversing as I made my recovery from evil world…

"I knew that there must be a lot more to it…but to find you at the end of this tale…hehehe," Havharo chuckled. "Ah, to see the Marquis' expression on his face when he knows about it." Havharo had a point. Old dude Marquis would be pretty damn surprised if he saw Basch living like a normal guy would.

"I actually should like nothing more," Basch stated, letting Yuko down from her little piggyback ride he gave to her. "I shall meet him and I will see for myself."

"How say you, My Lord?" Havharo asked.

"I'll arrange a meeting with the Marquis. We'll expect you to be at his estate." A man in the room said. The man left the room to tell the old geezer that we're going to meet him and we headed out of that place. We went outside and I stopped dead in my tracks…my stomach was growling like nuts. I clenched it to try and halt it, but it was only giving me small scratches on it through my camisole.

"You should've ordered food at the Sandsea back in Rabanastre, Fuu!" Fini hissed.

"Shut up! All the food over there looked like pig vomit." I screeched back at the damn pixie.

"Didn't you ever hear the term of "trying something new"?" Misa groaned, a little tired of Fini and my arguing.

"Maybe there will be some food at the estate." Yuko calmed us down.

"Like sushi, crepes, ice cream, steak sirloin, spaghetti…yum…" I mumbled, wearily following everyone in the back of the group.

…

After a few minutes, we reached the estate, and we went up lots and lots and lots of stairs, all the way to the tippy top where the Marquis was. He didn't seem pretty astonished to see Basch to me, he just grinned. I had also noticed that out the windows it was pretty dark…almost time for bed…and I admit I was getting pretty sleepy…

"Sir Basch Ronsenburg…it was not very long ago that I announced your death." Marquis said.

"And that is the only reason why I draw breath." Basch responded. There was a small awkward silence…that's when I heard my stomach go mad again. Everyone stared at me.

"Food's over there, young Miss." Marquis said, pointing to a large, long table of luxurious looking food. I gasped happily and ran up to him, bowing down.

"ARIGATO!" I squealed and I jogged over and grabbed everything that looked edible and delicious. I still listened to some of the conversation while I gulped down food, which was really, really tasty…but yet again, I didn't pay very much attention at all.

"Can we see Larsa for a second? He's got a friend of mine with me." Vaan said.

"I'm sorry, but you're too late for that request. Lord Larsa's cortege has already rejoined the Imperial Detachment…"

"In other words, little kids, he's not here." I said kind of loudly. The food made me kind of hyper for some odd reason, but I was probably just really happy to have food in my belly again…my last meal was at my house (since the beer at the Sandsea doesn't count) and it was a Pop tart.

"What are we waiting for?" Vaan asked Balthier with a little anger in his tone of voice.

"For you to calm down." Balthier responded. My stomach was pleased as I gained back my 89 pounds and I walked over to the group. Then, Ondore Marquis turned his head over to Basch.

"Captain Ronsenburg. Surely the exigencies of position are not lost on you. Why indeed, you should find the enemy's chains…an easy burden to bear…" Basch was about to charge after Ondore, but Balthier put his arm out in front of him.

"Wait!"

"I'm sorry…it cannot be helped." Basch said with a sad tone.

"Basch…" I said.

"Summon the Guard!" Ondore said. We all looked at him. Good God! How many times were we going to be arrested?

"Are you freaking kidding me? I swear to God, dude—!"

"Take them to Judge Ghis!" Ondore said as guards came in and took our hands behind our backs. I slightly screamed when one came up from behind me.

"Let…me…GO!" I kicked the dude in the balls…but it didn't really affect him because of all his heavy armor…instead, I pretty much hurt my own foot. I felt terrible for what they did to Yuko…they were grabbing her by the ponytail and dragging her! "Don't you dare treat her like a dead animal!" I screamed at them. That's when a guard got really annoyed by my struggling and crap that he pinched the part of your body that made you pass out…and that's exactly what I did.

…………………………………………………………………………….

I woke up, standing up, with chains wrapped around my ankles and feet. I was behind Fran and Yuko was behind me.

"Are you all right?" I asked her. She nodded. "Those bastards can't tell the difference between humans and mutts." I completed my statement until a guard came up to me.

"NO TALKING!" He shouted. I gave the guy the finger as I continued walking…but people in Ivalice didn't know what that meant, so he didn't give me a slap or anything like that. We all stopped in our tracks and we were all brought forward out of the line of chained prisoners…AKA, ourselves…

"The prisoners, My Lord." Said the guard that scolded me. I then recognized that voice…it was the very first guy that I soaped with Soapy in the Garamsythe waterway! Garbuden and his cronies…damn them. I then saw Ashe walk up…but I remembered that the group didn't know that her real name was Ashe and she was the princess of Dalmasca. She saw all of us and gasped at Basch. She ran up to him and slapped him, and it sounded painful, too, because bitches these days have pretty powerful slap…and Ashe was probably in her bitch mode, I was 99 percent sure of that. But never mind that… BASCH JUST GOT PWNED!

"After what you've done! How dare you! You're supposed to be _dead_!"

"Well, he isn't." I mumbled.

"Come, come, now," Judge Ghis said. "Have you forgotten your manners already? The is hardly the courtesy due…" Judge Ghis spoke the next words, and I decided to join in unison.

"Princess Ashelia B'nargin Dalmasca." Ghis looked at me, surprised, and started chuckling, while everyone else was like "What the crap? Amalia's Ashe?!".

"Hmm…state your name, girl." Ghis said to me. I didn't want to say anything, but it was best to tell him. Maybe he would give me a chance and release us.

"Fuu."

"Fuu, eh? Huh, you may be the Legend itself. Strange clothes, strange name…is that really your title? Did Marquis know about this? Why are you in these chains—?"

"Dude, slow down with the question asking already, just let us go before I go all demon fox on you!" I snapped at him. He shot back his head and chuckled once more.

"Don't interrupt." Ashe hissed at me. Then, we all saw flashing coming from Vaan…the pretty Magicite!

"Hahaha! So you've brought the stone with you, eh? This spares us a great deal of trouble, then." Ghis laughed. Guards grabbed Ashe from behind as Ghis snatched the stone from Vaan's hands.

"But you have to promise something…no executions." Vaan said. Smart, I thought.

"A Judge's duty is to the law." Ghis replied. "Take them away, and quarter the princess separately!" Bastard…we were dragged away in our glorious chains as we walked to a room.

"So we had it all along…the Fates jest." Basch sighed.

"Tell these little Fates of yours to leave me out of this." Balthier said to Basch.

"Quiet!" Garbuden screeched. I glared at the guard.

"You keep quiet, you dry piece of homosexual!" I snapped back. Yeah, yeah, I know, that comeback I had said was extremely retarded. Garbuden growled at me, but ignored my remark, surprisingly.

"There was nothing else that I could've done…you know that." Basch continued speaking to Balthier.

"Ah, I understand. Honor, duty, and all of that… I still can't believe that was the princess…and our young lady here knew it all along…"

"I SAID TO KEEP QUIET!" The guard was about to attack Balthier. In less than a half second, I noticed that the guy had light armor on, so I jumped out in front of Balthier and kicked the guy straight in his package. He looked like he was in pain, too. He crouched on the ground as Balthier kicked him, making him unconscious. Fran kicked another guard out of her reach…and the guard went flying back into another guard dressed in black…who threw him down?! The black armored guard removed his helmet and black armor…and it was Basch's friend Vossler!

"Vossler! Yo!" I blurted out from my big fat mouth. He stared at me, as well as Basch…and yet again, I was bowed down to.

"Legend…" They both said in perfect unison. They both took my hands and kissed them again…this time it was a little far…kissing up to my wrist, so I lightly slapped them.

"I know what will happen to you two if you continue kissing me like that." I said in a spooky tone of voice, scaring them off from my hands.

"I'm going to get the Princess out…but of course, I need your help." Vossler said to everyone.

"Of course we can help you out! It's our duty as the Gullwings!" I said. Ah, no, wait! That's Final Fantasy X-2! "Er…I mean…we'd love to help you out, Vossey!" Yuppers, that's his new nickname from now on.

"This way." Fran said. She pointed to a door with a button…and lucky us, a save crystal...We replenished our wounds and "saved our game" before we headed out of the room.

"Oh, yes. A word of caution," Vossler spoke up as we came to a halt by his words. "That red web of light will set off an alarm to bring out guards…we wouldn't want to start more trouble, now would we?" We all nodded as we saw different halls with red light beams coating the entrance to the hallway, but as we were walking, I spotted something black out of nowhere. I smiled and giggled. In another hall was the furry black thing…and I was attracted to it.

"Fini, Yuko, Misa, look! It's a puppy dog!" I squealed. I love animals, so I ran up to the hall. But when I was a foot away from it, it turned around and growled viciously. Foam was dripping out of its mouth and its fangs were white and sharp looking like a great white shark's teeth. I stopped dead in my tracks.

"You…dumbass…" Fini said. We all screamed and I picked up Yuko and shoved her into my backpack as the rabid dog chased after us. Not noticing my absence until now, Vaan turned around and saw the dog chasing me.

"Fuu!" He shouted, but not moving anywhere. I continued my obnoxious screaming…and I was trying to get away from the dog so much that I ran into the red lasers…and it set off the alarms. A few seconds later, guards came charging after us. Great, now we were all running after a rabid dog and a dozen guards. Balthier shot some of the guards as the dog got exhausted from running and passed out and he ran over to me.

"You're not very good at following directions, are you?" Balthier smirked.

"Shut the hell up." I responded. We managed to get inside of a room and saw 12 guards and two judges ready to whoop our butts.

"Fear not their numbers, only take down their leaders!" Vossey said, unleashing his sword like the previous chaos that had happened. I got out my ninja sword and ran swiftly, trying to get to a judge, but a guard snapped up in front of my and grabbed my wrist. I tried to get out of his grip, but nothing seemed to work. Yuko then ran up, jumped on the guard's arm, got out Soapy, took off his helmet by one hand, and soaped him right in the eyes. A FIVE YEAR OLD DID ALL OF THAT? The guard fell backwards in pain, clenching his face from the eye burning. Yuko grinned at me.

"Us kids can fight as well." She said. I nodded, still shocked at her doings.

"Uh…yeah…I see that…" I said almost breathless. I then picked up my ninja sword, which clanged to the ground, and got ready to fight some more baddies. I ran up to a judge, since Vossey, Fran and Vaan took out the six surrounding him, and I sliced some of his armor up. Fini and Misa also took his cape and draped it over his face, so he was utterly confused at what he was doing and where he was going. That's when Vaan kicked him over and knocked him out unconscious. I checked over to the other side of the battle to see how everyone else was doing, so I ran over to them and knocked over a guard with the back of my ninja sword. Balthier shot down some guards in the shoulders and Basch took down the judge in a couple of strokes with his broadsword. We all looked at each other in a silent success…but I got out my cell phone and played a ring tone…again, the victory music, with a guy badly singing the last three notes. Everyone stared at me and cocked an eyebrow, but I tucked my phone away into my backpack where it was safely hidden…and I put it on silent, as well.

"Sorry…" I said with pure innocence. Everyone dropped the ring tone situation and continued forwards into chambers. In one of them was Princess Ashe, sitting there, pondering her thoughts away in shame…when the door opened, Vossey was the first to come over to her and comfort her.

"You're unharmed." Vossey said to Ashe.

"Vossler, I—!" Ashe said weakly. Vossler grabbed her shoulders to keep her from falling over.

"Majesty." He said. While this scene was happening, I was thinking to myself…_Okay, Final Fantasy XII gets so much yaoi its not even funny…this happens because the game cannot decided on main pairings…like Tidus and Yuna in Final Fantasy X…but, man oh man, Ashe can't get one man! I feel sad for her…dearly…_

"You!" Ashe said angrily as she saw Basch approach her.

"Hey, come on! Let's get out of here!" Vaan said. I nodded in agreement with him as I followed him outside of the cell. We were running out of time…guards were searching for us everywhere and if we didn't get out soon, we were going to be bagels with cream cheese and jelly. Vaan and I found some treasure chests with potions and echo screens and all that other goody stuff in random treasure chests nearby, but when we were done with our treasure chest hunting, we saw two other people running in our direction…Larsa and Penelo!

"Vaan!" Penelo shouted happily. The two ran up to each other and hugged, how touching.

"It's okay…we're all okay." Vaan whispered to her. Larsa walked up to everyone and cleared his throat.

"Ghis knows you've escaped…" Larsa stated. He then saw everyone panting from running around all day. "It seems you know that already, hmm? Well then, you must hurry…Lady Ashe," Larsa faced towards Ashe. "By all rights, you aren't even supposed to exist." I remembered now. Everyone thought that Ashe commited suicide because of her husband's death in the war…but it wasn't true…but it seems you know that already.

"I know." Ashe responded.

"Thanks "Lamont"." Vaan said, folding his arms together. Larsa turned around before he was departing and scratched the back of his head.

"Oh, forgive me for that." He sighed. He then walked over to Penelo. "For you." He handed Penelo the Nethicite that he showed to everyone in the caverns at the Lhusu Mines. Penelo took it and kept it safely in my backpack, confused by the many zippers and empty spaces in it, but I gave her some help. She gave a small thank you to Larsa and me before Larsa then walked over to me and bowed down.

"And to the Legend, of course," He stated. "Good luck." He took my hand and kissed it…that was getting pretty old now, so I didn't care anymore. He then stood up and left. Vossler follows Larsa and they disappear.

"Vaan, who are these people?" Penelo asked her best friend.

"This is Balthier, Fran, Basch, Ashe, Fuu, and Yuko." Vaan pointed to everyone as we ran out of the hallway to try and make an escape somewhere. We then entered a larger room where Judge Ghis was, wielding a big ass sword.

"Such a great shame, really. I thought you were the one to restore peace to all of Dalmasca." He said. "Hmph. No matter, however…" He was summoning a flame vortex and it aimed for the group.

"No!" I shrieked, as I was the closest to Ghis in the entire group. I shut my eyes and tried to defend myself with my ninja sword…but a flash of light made the flame vortex vanish.

"What was that?" Penelo asked.

"The Nethicite." Balthier said with some astonishment in his voice. Ghis then charged after us and we began to fight. I honestly didn't remember much about this fight when I played my file in the game, but I just used a whole crap load of quickenings…damn, I didn't have any…so I thought.

"Fuu! Say these words!" Fini said to me. I turned to see her flying where Ghis wouldn't accidentally slice her with his giant sword. "_Twilight Labyrinth!_" Sounds like a novel title but I shook my head and took a deep breath.

"TWILIGHT LABYRINTH!" I shrieked. Everything froze around me and it was only Judge Ghis and I in the dark pink, cloudy atmosphere. My body was moving on its own so I had no control over it. I forced my hands back automatically and summoned a bright yellow and white light in a big ball. Little beams shot out of the ball and attacked Ghis, then threw the big ball over my head and there was a massive explosion…I then noticed that other members of my group were using quickenings as well. Ashe used hers, Northwain's Glow, then Fran used hers, Feral Strike, and then we all summoned an inferno! It didn't take out Ghis completely, but he was getting weaker from all of that quickening craziness. Yuko ran over to me and clenched onto my left leg.

"What's the matter, Yuko?" I asked her.

"Ghis…he's coming this way!" Yuko screamed. I turned around and saw Ghis from behind me. He picked me up by the waist and stood up, holding back my hands and neck. I tried to get out, but of course, his hands were way too strong to just shimmy your way out of his grasp.

"Surrender or else the girl will die!" Ghis said loudly. His sword was in front of my neck. I gasped at the sight of the blade.

"Put her down!" Yuko screamed. Ghis kicked her out of the way and down some stairs, which made her pass out.

"Yuko! No!" I screeched. I continued struggling until he had the blade even closer to my throat.

"Keep this up and your blood will be spilt right this moment." He muttered at me. I then felt something strange on my back…it was painful yet soothing, hot and cold…it was…different. Every once in a while, my entire body would flash sideways (A/N Okay, that's really hard to explain, but if you want to see what it looks like, see episode two of an anime called Kamichama Karin…its near the end of the episode, so you'll get the gist of what I'm trying to explain in this part…thanks a billion.).

"What's happening?" Vaan asked. I had my eyes opened the whole time…yet I couldn't see much of anything. As I continued to flash sideways, I saw this yellowish white light surround me…and then, I heard Ghis screaming in pain. He fell backwards and I was collapsing down the stairs like Yuko had done previously. I then saw Balthier looking down at me.

"How did that happen?" He smiled. Then, my eyes completely shut…

………

_To be continued in chapter seven…_

_Wow! That was a coolish chapter! Please review, I would appreciate it!_


	7. A Small Accident

Chapter 7: Ashe: -sigh-

_Fuu: She's the next thing to emo…_

_Ashe: Shut up, you._

_Fuu: You promised!_

_Ashe: I won't do it…_

_Fuu: PLEEEEEEEEEEEEASE!_

_Ashe: -sighs again- Fine…Fuu does not own Final Fantasy XII, as well as its characters, settings, and plots. She does own herself, the small child Yuko, and these two people I have never seen named Fini and Misa…_

_Fuu: And by the way, this chapter's a little "dirty", if you know what I mean…no, there's no lemon or lime action, so try somewhere else, peoples…but enjoy this chappy anyway!_

**Chapter 7:**

**A Small Accident**

I woke up really drowsy. I was expecting to still be in the fight with Judge Ghis, but I was a little surprised that I was in the sunny, cheery streets of Bhujerba! I was laying down on a bench and Vossler was next to me. I bent my head back more to talk to him, although I was upside down.

"Yo, yo, yo, Vossey!"

"Must you address me like that, Legend?" Vossler said.

"Hey, it's your nickname starting now! Kay, Vossey?" I said cheerfully. Vossler raised an eyebrow and ruffled my head as he stood up. "Hey! You ruined my bangs! They take forever to part!" I shouted at him. As I took a few minutes parting my bangs again, I noticed that everyone was almost afraid to speak to me. I looked over at Misa and Fini, who were still checking on Yuko, still knocked out from her stair-fall incident at the battle with Judge Ghis.

"Ah, you're up." Misa said, noticing now that I was awake.

"Yeah, is everyone fearful of me or something?" I asked Misa. She looked down at the ground then looked back up at me, looking directly in my hazel eyes.

"You mean that you do not remember?"

"Uh…not really." I answered her. That was the truth, actually. She then flew up and was a few inches from my nose.

"Okay, I'll give you a little information about what happened in battle…you were the one who defeated Ghis…and you killed him." Misa said. I wasn't shocked, I was actually proud. It was pretty much the one battle where I actually did something! But still, I wasn't the type of girl who wouldn't be a cold-hearted killer…but yet again, I was trying to defend myself, so it didn't seem that bad. But, I'm sure as heck that the Empire wouldn't be too happy about the death of Ghis.

"Well…that's pretty dang sweet." I said stupidly.

"And, it seems that every one of your friends is now afraid of you…they're afraid you'll go all glowy death on them as well." Misa stated.

"Oh…no wonder they're acting like whiny little bitches." I mumbled. I got out a piece of Stride and put it in my mouth, putting the unraveled wrapper in my back pocket. I glanced over and Yuko opened her eyes slightly. Good, she was finally okay.

"We're back in Bhujerba?" She asked me.

"Yeah…" I replied.

"That's good. And you're all right, Fuu-chan. I was very worried about you." Yuko said, grasping onto my arm. I patted her head and gave her a piggyback as I walked over to everyone else.

"Go to Ondore. And you will await for my return." Vossler said to Ashe. I gasped and ran up to Vossler, clinging to his arm.

"Vossey's going bye-bye? Aww, that sucks!" I said sadly. Hey, without Vossler, we wouldn't be here right now. Vossler bowed down to me. "Er…try to keep this Legend thingy quiet for now, Vossey." I mumbled to him. He then stood up and smiled.

"I understand your meaning. Well then, I'm sure we'll see each other again soon enough, Miss Fuu." Vossler said before he left. I waved goodbye to him and turned to everyone else in the group. "Come on, guys." I said, trying to get them out of "Fuu-is-now-the-scariest-woman-to-exist-in-Ivalice-we-better-keep-away-from-her-or-she'll-make-us-into-a-corpse" mode. "Look, everyone, I know I'm really creepy after what I did to Ghis, but, I'm not going to go all psycho freak on you guys too! You're all my friends! Friends don't do that to each other, you know?" I stated. This made them more comfortable around me now, and I was relieved and glad that I spoke up to everyone.

"Well then, we go to Ondore." Basch said. We started to go to the estate and we entered the gates with our permission. And we had to walk up the many, many, many, many, many, many, many stairs in the estate once more, which made me tired and not very happy at all. We finally reached the top and Ondore was waiting for us like her previously did. Ashe stepped up to him and spoke.

"When Vossler—."

"VOSSEY!" I shouted, interrupting Ashe. She glanced back at me and rolled her eyes and then turned back to Ondore.

"—Learned about my father's death, the same night of the treaty-signing, he returned to Rabanastre to assist me with my escape. There was still plenty of time before Vayne's reach extended a little too far. We were all thinking that _you_ could protect me." Ashe finished her statement to Ondore. Ondore looked like he was in deep thought, and then he finally spoke up to Princess Ashe. I was actually not listening much, since I turned to see if Yuko was all right. Honestly, I was rather shocked that Yuko didn't cry or anything when she got a small injury during battle. If a typical five-year old got a scratch, they would have a fit…but Yuko wasn't like that. She was brave and…different. I then saw a couple of bruises on her head…that must be where the guards were dragging her by the ponytail or something like that…poor kid. I then started to pay attention more when Balthier spoke up.

"We'll stay here for the night. And time enough for a bath, too. Dirty business, you know. Ah, yes, and bring a change of clothes, too." Balthier said walking away. Guards, thank God not Garbuden and his little chimps, brought us to special rooms. I shared a room with Yuko, since she was closest to me (And she was also close to Basch, too, but that would seem a little bit _weird_…a grown 36-year old man sharing a bedroom with a five-year old girl…bad images…bad images…).

"Fuu-chan, you might want to take a bath yourself, you know." Fini stated. I glanced at her.

"Yeah, but, my hair—." I said touching my strawberry blonde hair, perfectly soft and straightened.

"You don't need to worry. Even if your hair gets soaked, your hair would dry like how it was when you first came into Ivalice. If you haven't noticed, it hasn't moved one inch and hasn't gotten a spec of grease on it, either." Misa pointed out. I touched my hair again and noticed that Misa wasn't kidding…it felt perfect!

"I guess then I'll do it then. Besides, it would be good to feel fresh again." I said. I started to unzip my black jacket and I took it off. I should've brought extra clothes, too, but then again, maybe there was a save crystal nearby to clean up my clothes. I stepped into my own little bathroom and got inside a very shiny looking bathtub. It was very slippery even without the water. Once it was all bubbly, I got snuggly in the water (Yuko was in the tub, too, and she nearly floated on the water in relaxation). I got out a box of soap in my backpack and started to clean. I thought that I would need to shave and crap, too…but I then noticed that I had no stray hairs anywhere! I started to like being in Ivalice more than I thought…after about 15 minutes, I got out of the tub and grabbed a fluffy towel and dried myself off. I wrapped the towel around me and got inside my bedroom. As I set my backpack down on my bed, I heard the door open. I thought it was Fini, since she was going to find some food for us…but then I saw Balthier! I immediately saw his face flush in embarrassment. I, being a pervert squealer, screamed loudly and threw a random object at him (I clearly don't remember what it was, though…something small though…I think Soapy or something.)

"GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT!" I shrieked, ducking down behind my bed for my covering up, although my towel was good enough. Balthier closed the door.

"Forgive me." Balthier stated. "I just wanted to say to meet me in my bedroom…" He said. I looked at the door.

"Oh…okay…see you then…" I said softly, but loud enough for him to here. I heard his footsteps fade away and I exhaled, heart beating like crazy. Yuko came in, tripped over her oversized towel, and then stood up.

"What happened?" She asked nervously.

"Oh…um…I saw a spider…but its dead now…" I lied. Yuko blinked then nodded.

"I see…but who was talking?"

"Oh…myself. I like to ponder my thoughts out loud." I lied again.

"Okay, Balthier." Yuko said as she grabbed her shirt. I shuttered and looked at her.

"You…YOU KNEW ALL ALONG?"

"It was kind of obvious…" Yuko sighed.

"Um…sorry then?"

"Apology accepted." She replied.

……………………………………………….

When I was fully dressed, I got out of my room and went over to a door at the end of a hall. It was Balthier's room. I knocked on it a few times.

"Come in." He said. I gulped and inhaled, and then I came in. I opened the door all the way.

"Balthier, did you want to see me—?" I was interrupted when he walked over and pushed me against the door, with my wrists pinned against the door, closing it. His face was close to mine, and I felt my heartbeat increase and a lump in my throat, making my mouth dry but water up at the same exact time.

"Keep the door closed, please." He said softly. He let go of me and I glanced around the room. He sat on his bed and made a gesture to come and sit next to him. I looked over at Fini, who decided to come along with me, and she only shrugged her shoulders. I gulped silently as I slowly walked over and sat next to him.

"So, what's this all about?" I asked him. He put his finger to my lips to halt me from talking any more.

"We're not going to stay here." Balthier started. "I suggest that you pack your things and everyone will meet outside late." I looked at him with surprise.

"But, we just started to—!" He put his finger on my lips again.

"No buts." Balthier gave me a cute smile. "The Princess is going to attempt to escape to retrieve the Dawn Shard…I heard her speaking in her room, so I just _had _to eavesdrop." He cupped his hand on my cheek, which made me blush. I didn't want him to feel the heat on my cheeks, which made me a bit nervous. "Besides, I want to find out more about you." I was then shocked at what happened next…he brought his hand out and grabbed the zipper on my jacket and unzipped it. I gasped as he forced me to turn around. WAS HE GOING TO DO WHAT I THINK HE WAS? He took off my jacket completely, throwing it to the ground like it was litter. His hand started to feel my back…and I was utterly confused. All I knew was that I was blushing like wild. He then pulled down my camisole straps and pulled it down…but only a bit.

"Hmm…maybe it doesn't appear much yet." He lifted up my camisole again and handed me my jacket. I was confused…that's it?

"Wait…what the hell were you doing to me?" I asked him with some strictness in my voice. He turned to me.

"The Legend is supposed to have a marking on her back…I only saw a small yellow dot, its supposed to get larger, I have heard…" Balthier stated. I raised an eyebrow as he opened his door. "I suggest you take your materials with you…meet me down at the Strahl." He said. He left his room as I sat there, motionless. Fini pushed my head a bit.

"Come on, Fuu! Get your backpack and go down to the Strahl!" Fini said. I blinked and nodded with her. I stood up and returned to my room, turning on the lights, interrupting Yuko's beauty sleep. I looked at the clock on my cell phone. 1:18 AM. Yuko groaned as she turned her body towards me.

"What's going on?" She said with a tired tone. I put stuff I unpacked back into my backpack quickly and then turned back to Yuko.

"Sorry, Yuko-chan, but we have to go." I said. Yuko sat up. Good, she had her regular clothes on.

"But why?"

"Long story short, we've gotta stop the Princess." I said, picking her up and placing her in my backpack. I almost forgot about Soapy and picked him up and stuffed him down into my backpack, too. Misa double-checked if I left anything, and everything was clear. We quietly ran down the halls and managed the sneak outside without getting caught. I saw the Strahl lit up and I immediately ran inside, where I saw Balthier, Vaan, and Ashe.

"I'm trying to concentrate!" Balthier said in a voice box, making it sound exactly like Ashe's voice!

"Balthier, hey! Where's everyone else?" I asked him.

"Everyone else?" Ashe questioned.

"I mean…where's my…uh…forget it." I mumbled.

"Anyway, I am leaving you with the Marquis." Balthier said to Ashe. She stood up.

"You can't!"

"You have to trust me, you're better off staying here." Balthier said to her. I picked up the voice box thingy and spoke into it.

"_Boom-chic-A! Boom-boom-chic-A!" _I was beat-boxing in Ashe's voice…and it was very fun.

"Fuu, you're an imbecile…" Fini mumbled.

"Suppose that you kidnapped me!" Ashe said to Balthier. "You're a sky pirate, aren't you? Then steal me…is that a lot to ask of you?" I got a little jealous when Ashe said this…that's when my thoughts came back…

My thoughts again…

"_Balthier! Steal me! Take me away!" I shouted, my hand over my head. He smiled as he grabbed me by the waist, fingers trailing up my neck._

"_I would love nothing more, my dear Fuu…" He said in my ear, whispering gently. He then unzipped my jacket, took off my camisole…and was about to unhook my bra—…_

"The Dynast-king's treasure! And the ancient tablets of the Legend!" Ashe interrupted my dreaming. I then heard "Legend" and "Ancient tablets"…what was this all about, I wondered. "His riches lay in his tomb…" Balthier looked extremely pleased.

"King Raithwall, you say?" He then glanced at me. "Hear that, Legend? I really might learn about you after all." He said, grinning at me. I actually wanted to learn more about this Legend thingy as well, so I was definitely in for it. Ashe looked over at me.

"Did you say Legend?" Ashe questioned in astonishment.

"But kidnapping royalty is a serious offense to the law." Basch came up, putting Yuko up on his shoulders. "It will not do much to lower the bounty on your head, you know."

"But I wonder how much your head is worth." Balthier pointed out. Basch seemed to agree.

"I'm coming too!" Penelo suddenly exclaimed behind Basch, Fran following behind her. This seemed to worry Vaan. She gave him a worried look. "You're not leaving me here." She stated. He sighed.

"You're right." He said, nodding with his BFFL.

"Then it is settled," Fran said. "We should leave before the Marquis figures out that she's missing…like proper kidnappers." Everyone got buckled up in their seats as the Strahl took off five minutes later. We zoomed out of Bhujerba to retrieve the Dawn Shard…and to find out more about myself…

To Be Continued in chapter Eight! 


	8. Big, Mad Birdie

_Fuu: DANCE MAGIC DANCE! JUMP MAGIC JUMP!_

_Penelo: Something wrong with her?_

_Vaan: She's got a certain song stuck in her head…a weird song from this thing called a musical, which is called "Labyrinth"_

_Penelo: Weird…_

_Fuu: JUMP MAGIC JUMP! SLAP THAT BABY!_

_Vaan: Oh, right…Fuu doesn't own Final Fantasy XII, same with its plots, settings, and especially its characters. All rights go to Square Enix…whatever the heck that is. Fuu, however, does own herself, Yuko, and these two people called Fini and Misa._

_Fuu: PIKACHUU! (Enjoy this chapter)_

Chapter 8: Big, Mad Birdie

I got my beauty sleep during the trip on the Strahl, which was about six hours long. I woke up by Vaan, who shook me a bit. I stretched out and left the Strahl into the desert sands of the Sandsea (Not the tavern in Rabanastre, it's a desert-like area…), watching it turn invisible. Penelo, Vaan, and I all stared in astonishment at what the technology did.

"This comes in handy often?" Ashe asked Balthier.

"It _is_ tough being popular, you know. Won't want anyone dropping in." Balthier stated. Ashe nodded.

"We go across the Sandsea…to the Valley of the Dead. And to King Raithwall's Tomb below." Ashe pointed to a distance. Fini landed on my shoulder.

"Fuu, this is the time to learn more about yourself." Fini stated. I glanced over at her.

"Oh? You know nothing about this Legend thingy?" I asked her. Fini looked down.

"Unfortunately, I do not. I should know, which shames me." Fini sadly replied. I patted her head with my right index finger.

"No worries, Fini." I said as I started trailing next to Vaan and Penelo.

"Hey, your name is Fuu, right?" Penelo asked me. I nodded.

"It sure is."

"Back when I saw you get arrested…how did you know my name?" Penelo asked me. I blinked; surprised that she still remembered that.

"Well, you see—."

"She might be King Raithwall's Legend!" Vaan said excitedly. Penelo's eyes expanded and she just kept staring at me in awe.

"You serious? Are you really _she_?"

"I could be, I'm not so sure yet." I replied. I then turned around and faced the two again. "Say, no one really told me about this Legend thingy anyway." I stated.

"Well, it's been said that the Legend was a person who was going to be created by Raithwall's ghost…a person who held this power to know everything in the past, present, and future of Ivalice. That Legend would solve Ivalice's greatest mysteries." Penelo began.

"The Legend also had this power to control things, so I've heard. She could control anybody and anything it wanted but I haven't seen you do that." Vaan spoke up.

"Maybe you have the yellow marking on your back…because you used it to kill Ghis—…"

"Ghis isn't dead yet." I stated. They both looked at each other, stunned.

"WHAT?"

"Nope, he escaped."

"But…you were knocked out when— oh, forget it…you really are her." Penelo said. I winked.

"Can't tell if someone's someone by first glance." I pointed out. Vaan shook his head.

"You're definitely the Legend…want us to check the marking?" Vaan asked. I then remembered what happened this super early morning with Balthier…

"NO WAY!" I pushed Vaan into Penelo and sped up my tracks…

We continued walking until we stopped in this big area full of sand and rusty looking buildings. I recognized this place…the Ogir-Yensa Sandsea. Vaan walked up and picked up some sand, letting it slowly out of his palm.

"How far is Raithwall's tomb?" I asked.

"It is far to the west. We must first cross the Ogir-Yensa Sandsea…and then the Nam-Yensa Sandsea," Basch said. "This area of desert is larger than Dalmasca itself. If you get tired, we stop and take a rest. Especially for you, my Legend, since you are so fragile and young." I rolled my eyes but smiled.

"No fear, pal. I've got my strength all under control. I've been in marching band before out in the sun and the hot temperature, so I think I can handle this as well." I said, putting my elbow on Basch's shoulder, although he was much, much taller than I was.

"Marching band?" He questioned.

"Um…never mind…"

"Something in your world?" Ashe asked me. Penelo looked at me confused.

"World?" She asked.

"Y-yeah…" Great, now pretty much everyone knows my little secret. We shrugged it off as we headed up a bunch of metal stairs into series of rusty little buildings. The winds were pretty gentle, so sand didn't get into my eyes that much. It kind of sucked for Fini and Misa, though, because they were so weightless. They had to cling onto my hoodie or Yuko's oversized sleeves for safety and support. It was really hot, so I took off my black hoodie, zipping it down all the way to the start of my ribs, where the zipper ended, and took it off, stuffing it into my backpack. Some of the guys in our group blushed at the sight of more skin revealed on me, especially Basch. We continued walking on the buildings.

"So, did Dalmascans build this construction site?" Vaan asked Basch.

"No. Rozarrians." Basch stated. Rozarria was one of the two kingdoms in Ivalice caught up in a major war, putting the small Dalmasca in it as well. "Their Empire lies farther to the west, ever at war with Archadia. Heedless of the kingdoms caught in their tracks. Dalmasca…Nabradia…Landis…

"'Tis the small craft's fate: To watch the list of the galleons and pray for light winds." A familiar voice came behind us. We all turned around and saw Vossler!

"VOSSEY!" I squealed, running up behind Vossler and jumping up behind him, wrapping my arms around his neck. He laughed.

"It seems the dearst Legend is lively as expected." Vossler said.

"Hehehe, dearst is a funny word." I laughed. Balthier raised an eyebrow but showed no sign of happiness to my enthusiasm with Vossler.

"Why are you here, Vossler?" Basch asked his good friend.

"Imagine my surprise…I find you, the princess, AND the Legend missing…and then I see a airship in the sky." Vossler said.

"Dat was sooooo us." I said with a strange accent. Vossler raised an eyebrow and shook his head, making me jump off of him. "Besides, you can trust Balthier, can't you?" I said with some desperation that he would not accept Balthier in the group. I gave him a look similar to "Legend's Orders". He nodded.

"I understand." Vossler started to walk ahead of the group as we all followed him. After about five minutes of walking, Fran stopped dead in her tracks.

"We better get moving quickly." She said.

"Let me take a guess: sandstorm?" Balthier guessed.

"No. Far worse." Fran said, pointing out to a distance of the Sandsea. We then saw small, cloaked, midget-like creatures on swim-like creatures, swimming through the sands like dolphins in an ocean.

"We leave at once! This is Urutan-Yensa territory…and they really are unfond of visitors." Balthier said, running towards the nearest exit of the construction site we were traveling through. I started running with Fran and Balthier out of the place, but the midgets popped up in front of us, prepared for combat.

"Fini…how the hell are we gonna beat this guys?" I asked the pixie.

"Anything will do…but they can cast this spell that can kill you…so try to keep your distance as far as you can, so I recommend you use magick spells." Fini stated. I nodded. One was heading towards me, but I jumped back and thought of a thunderstorm, summoning a powerful lightning bolt, which electrocuted the Urutan-Yensa midget. He fell back, paralyzed, and faded away, leaving behind an antidote for my stash in my backpack. As I picked up the antidote, another midget attacked me. I fell back with a scratched up arm.

"You idiot! Don't let your guard down!" Fini squealed.

"Shut up." I murmured. Ashe jumped out in front of me and stabbed the Urutan-Yensa twice as it collapsed, fading away, also dropping a potion.

"Are you all right, Legend?" Ashe asked. She let out a hand to help me get up, and I took it. All the midgets were wiped out in the area and I put on my hoodie again, since the wind was picking up. Besides, I didn't want anyone worrying about my bloody arm. It actually wasn't too long before we got out of the Ogir-Yensa Sandsea. As we entered the Nam-Yensa Sandsea, we found a save crystal to heal up my arm and other areas where I was injured from previous battles encountered. I looked over and saw a small plant with berries on it. I walked over and decided to pick them, for snacks later. As I picked the last one, I remembered this in the game…these were called Eskir Berries…and the big birdie Garuda despised them. I took one and sniffed it. It smelled like a lemon and a peach at once, which actually smelled pretty good. I popped it into my mouth and chewed. It tasted horrible. I spat it out and buried it in the sands.

"What did you do?" Misa asked.

"Eskir Berries smell good, but they taste like crap." I stated.

"They're supposed to be good for you…but they can also attack enemies, especially Garuda." Fini said.

"I know, I know," I said, standing up. "I've played the game before many times." I walked over to everyone else as we traveled through the Nam-Yensa, which was even shorter than the Ogir-Yensa's traveling. We then went through a small tunnel and came out into the sunlight…the entrance to Raithwall's Tomb. Before anyone took a step further, a shade hovered over everyone and we all looked up…oh snap…big mad birdie. It cawed in fury as it swooped down…straight to me, of course. I ducked down as it barely missed me. I stood up again and ran over to hide behind a pillar.

"Yuko, get the Eskir berries please." I said, getting out my ninja sword. Yuko dug her head through the backpack.

"Um…I really can't see anything…there's things scattered _everywhere_ in here." Yuko stated, pulling out my iPod. Garuda saw my pathetic hiding spot and swooped down to get us.

"If Garuda harms my iPod, I'll murder everything around me!" I screeched. Yuko stuffed my iPod safely down into my backpack as I completely forgot to duck down to the ground to miss Garuda's attacks. It grabbed my hood and brought me up into the sky, Fini following me up.

"IDIOTTTTT!" Fini screeched at me. I only was screaming my head off while in contact with the sky.

"HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO GET DOWN FROM HERE!?" I screamed loudly. Fini couldn't keep up with Garuda's speed and she fell behind until Garuda hit her with its tail. She squealed while following straight to the ground below.

"FINI!" I still had my ninja sword in hand and I attempted to stab Garuda's wings, but it was soaring so fast that tears blurred my eyes and I saw nothing but the sky. I was kicking a lot, when I noticed that on the bottom of my shoe was a berry…an Eskir berry? Oh, it was the one I tried to eat but I spit it out…then I probably stepped on it when I buried it up. I would try to bring my shoe up to where I can scrape the berry off, but it took minutes to do so. I finally got it after the eleventh attempt. I didn't know what to do with it…do I just throw it at it? I did that…and it worked! Garuda flinched in pain as it soared down to the ground. As soon as it was close to a pillar, I used my ninja sword and stabbed one of Garuda's wings, which made it squeal. I jumped on the top of the pillar and clung onto it, sliding down carefully. I ran over to the pillar where Yuko was.

"Where's Fini?" I asked, panting.

"Wasn't she with you?" Yuko asked. Misa was helping rummaging out my backpack.

"She was…but…she couldn't keep up with me and—DUCK!" I ducked down and Yuko followed me, and Garuda missed the both of us. We got back up.

"Any luck finding any?" I asked Yuko.

"I found two…how many were there again?"

"Six, but I threw one too, so there's three left in there, and I think that will finish off Garuda fo sho." I stated, watching out for Garuda's next daring swoop.

"So far, I've found a couple of wrinkly gum wrappers, your iPod again, Soapy, and a cap of a blue pen." Yuko said, showing me the items.

"Hand me the berries that you found already. When Garuda makes the next dive, I'll throw it at him." I said. I learned Garuda's little "schedule" for battle. First he tried to maim Vaan with his beak, but Vossler would distract him. Penelo and Balthier would then go in a small little fight with their weapons as everyone else casted spells, when Basch casted his second spell, Garuda would fly up and try to put me or Yuko in the sky. When Basch was done casting blizzard, Garuda flew up and headed towards us. I took the two berries and when he was close, I threw them both at him. I'm not good with throwing, but it hit him pretty good. He squealed painfully as he spun around in the sky, almost landing on Vaan (Why is it always Vaan who almost gets killed first? Who knows…)?

"Bulls eye!" I said excitedly.

"I found another one! It was behind your cell phone!" Yuko handed me another berry. I clenched onto it gently as I waited for Garuda's next dive…when he finally came down, I threw the berry at him and he flinched in pain…when I noticed something hanging from his beak…FINI!

"Fini's been bird-napped!" I shouted.

"What?" Yuko asked.

"Uh-oh, and she's still knocked out, too!" Misa squealed. I had no other choice, I thought.

"Find the other two berries quickly, Yuko!" I said.

"I'm on it!" Yuko said, stuffing her entire body in the backpack. She came out with one berry. "One…" She then stuffed her entire body in the backpack again, trying to find the final Eskir berry I had picked earlier. Garuda swooped down again, Fini still knocked out.

"I found it!" Yuko said happily. She handed me the very last Eskir berry and I put them in my hand.

"All right, Garuda's gonna come down any second now—AGH!" I squealed as Garuda swooped me up by his wing and onto his back. The unexpected flight made me drop one of the berries in the center of the battlefield.

"Hey you, we're just going to visit the guy." I said to Garuda. "And you have a friend of mine I want back! How's this?" I threw a berry at Garuda and he cawed loudly, letting go Fini. "I DIDN'T TELL YOU TO DROP HER YOU RETARD!" I screamed at the bird, which shook me off. I was falling stories high. Just for honor in the battle, I threw the last berry in my hand to Garuda. It hit his foot and he squealed again in pain. Unfortunately, he still didn't die yet. I was falling at rapid speed and I was close to Fini…and to the ground. "Don't…die…yet…Fini…" I said through clenched teeth. I then reached my hand out and grabbed Fini and put her in my camisole and around the elastic band of it. I was a meter to the ground…this was totally it. I shut my eyes tightly before I felt my body going upwards…great, Garuda saved me…but was gonna drop me again anyway. He was holding my hood by the beak again like he did the first time he took me up into the skies.

"YUKOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! IT'S UP TO YOU TO THROW THE LAST BERRY!" I screamed. Yuko looked up and heard my message to her. She was searching around her.

"WHERE DID YOU PUT IT AGAIN?"

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?"

"I SAAAAAAAAID WHERE DID YOU PUT THE VERY LAST BERRY AT AGAIN?"

"I DROPPED IT!"

"WHAAAAT?"

"I SAAAAAAAAID I DROPPED ITTT!"

"WELL THAT REALLY IS A DISADVANTAGE, HUH?"

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?"

"NEVER MIIIIIIIIIIIND! I'LL SEND MISA UPPP!"

"OKAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!" Out shouting messages disturbed everyone in the fight, even Garuda himself, but I didn't care. Misa flew up and was distracting the big, mad birdie.

"Hey, dude, wazzup?" Misa said to Garuda. "Look, no offense or anything, but everyone down there wants you _dead_!" Misa flew up and clung onto Garuda's beak. He tried to shake her off, which made the ride bumpier and even more dangerous. I looked down and saw Yuko searching everywhere.

"YUKOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! I THINK I DROPPED IT OVER WHERE BALTHIER ISSSS!"

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAT?"

"I SAAAAAAAAAAAAAAID—AGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" I screamed while Garuda got more violent with his shaking, and pretty soon, Misa was thrown off.

"YUKOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! MISA'S FALLINGGGG!"

"I'LL CATCH HER! BECAUSE I SEE HER FALLINGGGG!"

"GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOODDDD! FIND THAT BERRY, PLEASE! IT'S OVER BY BALTHIER I THINKKKKKKK!"

"OKAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!" Yuko shouted. She ran over to Balthier and looked around him. He questioned her search and then she pointed up. Great, now Balthier had to see me being clung onto by a big birdie. I saw him run up and try to aim his gun at Garuda, but Yuko stopped him while catching Misa in the nick of time. Her catching made it look like she automatically _was_ going to cling onto Balthier's leg. He sighed and put his rifle down and just stared at me, desperate for assistance…

"FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU! I FOUND ITTTTTTTTTTTTT!" Yuko said, holding up the final Eskir Berry. I gleamed at the small sight of it.

"GREAAAAAAAAAAAAT! TRY TO TOSS IT UP HEEEEEEEERE!" I shouted back down. Yuko knew her throw wouldn't be good enough, so she handed it to Balthier, who threw it all the way to where I was, which was pretty high up. I tried to catch it, but it only landed in my mouth. Unexpected of its taste, I immediately swallowed it. Oh, shit.

"AREN'T YOU GONNA THROW IT AT GARUDAAAAAAAA?" Yuko shouted up.

"Um…I accidentally swallowed it…" I shouted as softly as I could, but Yuko managed to hear my words.

"THAT'S NOT GOOD!"

"YOU IDIOOOOOOOOOOOOTT!" Misa screamed. "NOW WE'RE ALL GONNA DIEEEEE!" I looked down and saw Penelo and Vaan, barely standing up from all the energy they've wasted so much of. Vossler was helping a limping Ashe, and Basch was sitting in the sand, probably praying his ass off for my protection. This was my entire fault that everyone was going to lose…but then, before I buried my head in shame…I felt this weird bump in my throat…and it was warm and I had a feeling that the smell was going to be unpleasant…and it was the perfect idea. I twisted in front of Garuda's face…and burped the stench of the Eskir berries right in his eyes. The burp was pretty long, too! Garuda screamed loudly as his body was fading and I was falling again. Fini finally woke up and got out of my camisole elastic band and tried to lift me to make my faller not kill me, but it wasn't working out well…until Misa came up and helped. It was much better and my landing was nice. It was probably even cooler to the eyes of everyone else because they couldn't see game guardians.

"Fuu, are—." Balthier started. I put my finger on his lips.

"Don't worry, I'm fi—…" Before I finished, I burped again, gentler this time.

"Eskir Berries make you burp a lot, by the way." Fini whispered to me. I had a cheesy smile plastered on my face.

"Thanks for telling me that when I tried to eat one before." I whispered to her.

"No wonder Garuda died." Yuko giggled. Everyone held in laughter as they headed over to what we've all been searching for…the tomb of King Raithwall.

"Be careful, my Legend, it's very dangerous in that place." Basch said to me.

"No problem. I can burp out a bird, I think I can handle anything now." I winked at Basch. We walked up many worn-out looking stairs and there was a save crystal! We replenished ourselves and then saw this ancient device. It was the only way to enter the tomb.

"We ready?" Ashe asked everyone. Everyone nodded and she was the one to activate the switch. We all disappeared and went below into darkness…it was weird being teleported. It felt really cold, like someone stuffed a bunch of snow down your back without the wet, trickling feeling. We stopped in a room full of torches and a long hallway was lit up to a large door.

"This is it. We just have to travel through the many corridors to reach to where we need to be." Balthier said. For some reason, my back felt this pain…a deep pain…like the pains you would get during your period…but it also felt like sorrow, as well. We started to head down to the hallway…when we felt rumbling behind us…we turned around and saw dust and stone fly in all sorts of different directions…and a Demon Wall ready to crush us against the wall.

"Fight or run, we better decide fast!" Vaan said. All of a sudden, a yellow light came out of my chest I looked at it in surprise…did I always have that? It flew over to the door to another hallway.

"This way, you guys!" I said, running over to the door. "What are you?" I asked the light. I'm dumb, why was I talking to a pale yellow light? I opened the doors with my strength, some dust pouring from different places as everyone else followed. We stood on another long hallway…and another demon wall…happy birthday to us…

"The wall comes. We must be quick! Together we can bring it down!" Fran said, getting out her bow and arrow, aiming it at the demon wall. I got out my ninja sword and ran up to it, slicing it a couple of times. It took one of its scrawny hands and threw me back into Yuko. I landed on my butt; palms and feet flat on the ground while knees were up.

"Are you okay, Yuko?" I asked the girl. She stood up, wiping off dust on her overall dress.

"I'm fine. You better get up because the demon wall's heading towards you." Yuko said. I nodded and tried to get up…uh oh…I couldn't move an inch.

"Fini!" I shouted frantically. "What's happened to me? I can't get up!" Fini flew over and gasped.

"The wall's performed "stop" on you!"

"Shit! This isn't good at all!" I screamed as the wall was creeping up closer. Yuko and Misa tried to pull me up, but they only fell back. I turned around and saw everyone else…not moving an inch!

"We've stopped our movements! How has this happened?" Vossler asked.

"It's casted stop!" I shouted. "Someone have a remedy or something?"

"We do! But we cannot reach it in our stash because we can't move!" Ashe stated quite calmly.

"Great!" I said panicking. The demon wall was about four feet away from my feet…and as I started screaming loudly, the light came up and freed me from my spell. I stared as it surrounded me, but I immediately stood up as everyone else was freed, too! The light then came up to the demon wall and destroyed it completely, leaving nothing but a pile of ancient rubble.

"What was that light?" Penelo asked. I looked at the light, which circled around my head a few times before it stopped in front of my face.

"You're very helpful, aren't you?" I asked the light. "I'll name you Shiny!" I said. It looked a little happy and bobbed up and down before it circled around my head a couple of times again, then snuck underneath my hair and rested on my left shoulder.

"Well then, we have a new friend," Balthier said. "Anyway, we should continue through this solemn place…to the tomb…and to get that fascinating treasure." He started walking away and everyone followed him, as did I, into the tomb where the Legend would not be very welcome…

_To be continued in chapter nine!!_

_Okay, so I was talking to a friend about this story, and I told him about Fini and Misa. He asked me how old they were, and I said, "They're unknown in age". He then said "That's messed up, dude! You've got to give them some sort of age since they're supposed to be SEXY!" What a fool my friend is…anyway, Fini and Misa still don't have given, final ages, but they probably both look like they're seventeen or something…I decided to do that for my friend. Oh, yeah, and OC ages…_

_Fuu, 14, since that's how old I am now, and its appropriate enough for that age on this adventure…she's very small though for her age. _

_Flashback…during band camp, getting out of the cafeteria, college students entering…_

"_That's a young-ass chick!"_

"_Probably Twelve…"_

_Grr…_

_And Yuko is age 5, although she has good vocabulary and personality for her age, since most five-year olds are whiny and spoiled…but she isn't…_

_Okay, buh-bye!_


	9. Revealing History

Fuu: Wow, it's been a while, sorry for not updating :(

_Yuko: I think they understand the schoolwork excuse_

_Fuu: Well, I guess you're right, Yuko…_

_Yuko: Like we always say, Fuu doesn't own Final Fantasy XII as well as its characters, plots, and settings. She, however, does own me, herself, Fini, and Misa…and my big brother, too._

_Fuu: Ah, no one remembers him._

_Yuko: Right._

_Fuu: Well, time for chapter nine!_

_Chapter Nine:_

_Revealing History_

The passages were dark and creepy in the building. Cobwebs were drenched everywhere, and it almost looked like a bunch of kids threw toilet paper all over the place…except a smaller form of toilet paper, an ickier toilet paper.

"Shiny is my Shiny, Vaan!" I said, clasping the Shiny bulb gently into my hand, protecting it from Vaan. Balthier glanced over and raised an eyebrow, looking like he was in deep thought mode. That was the most common face he made, in my opinion. I didn't know why he was always thinking, but it was slightly bugging me a bit.

Unfortunately for our group, we had to face the dreaded puzzles of the place. That means going back and forth, finding which way to turn pedestals and all of that crap. Fran was good at puzzles, so we went to the next room in about twenty minutes. The fiends in the place were mostly bats, so they usually scared the crap out of me when they would pop out of nowhere from the ceilings. Balthier took care of them with his rifle, though, so we were all good. The place was also kind of slippery for being so damp all the time, making me trip a few times. Trust me, the place was like walking on black ice. One of the times I tripped I landed on my ankle, spraining it once more…

"Why is it always me that's a klutz?" I muttered angrily. I saw Balthier turn around and look at me for a second, but then I felt my body go up in the air and into Vossey's arms.

"Are you all right, Miss Legend?" Vossey asked me.

"Uh, I think I am." I replied. Vossey nodded and walked, still carrying me. "This place is rather dangerous, so stay on your guard. If you were to get hurt, I would regret it." Wow, Vossey was officially my bodyguard!

As we continued through the passages with our completed puzzle, we entered a new room…and it explained where all the crazy damp crap was coming from.

"What is this fog?" Penelo asked, looking at how thick the fog was.

"Not fog. Mist." Fran corrected Penelo.

"You can see the mist with your eyes?" Penelo asked Fran.

"Where it is thick enough, you may." Fran replied. I walked a little closer to the edge and just stared at the mist. It seemed almost…sad. I didn't know what to think of it, really, it just gave me a chilly, dark feeling. Misa flew up next to me.

"You all right, there?" She asked me.

"Yeah. Just taking time to think a bit." I replied to her. I then glanced over at Balthier, also staring at the Mist. I sighed. "Is he thinking the same things…I wonder?" I quietly said to myself. I finally followed everyone else up the stairs to a rather large area…and there was a rather large, unhappy Gigas also up in the large area. Belias the Gigas…an Esper.

"Why did I blank out and forget about this fight?" I asked angrily to Yuko.

"Don't look at me! These are all new to me!" Yuko said, backing up behind me. I got out my ninja sword and was ready to fight…or at least attempt it. Belias floated over towards Vaan's direction and slashed his sword at Vaan first. Vaan jumped back, just missing the swipe of the sword, and landed on me.

"Sorry, Fuu!" He said, trying to get up from his fall. Vaan was heavy, even though he practically wore nothing, he was heavy. After he got up, I was about to say something, but Belias tackled Vaan to the ground…and he landed back first on the ground, and then he didn't move.

"VAAN!" I screamed.

"Fuu, don't let your guard down!" Fini screeched at me from above. I looked forwards and Belias was staring straight into my eyes. His eyes were pretty effin' scary. I still stared at them…and then I felt this weird feeling…and later, I felt Balthier stop and stare at me. I then saw Shiny circle around Belias and a light encircled around the Gigas. I didn't move from my stance…I stood still, and I didn't want to move from that stance I was in. I just stood there, staring into Belias's eyes. Balthier ran over to me and started shaking me.

"Get back to your senses!" He said to me. I then blinked and looked at him…saying nothing. I then heard the scream of Belias…and Vossler took him down with an ice spell. Belias faded into a floating, card-like symbol, and floated right over to me. Shiny floated behind it. I looked over at Balthier again, who only stared at me in wonder. I then felt this urge…an urge to hurt someone…ever since the battle of Belias, I started thinking…maybe I am this Legend after all. That gave me the urge to have tears stream down my face in front of Balthier. He stared at me for a second, and then, he hugged me.

…

After a few minutes of letting out my emotions, I wiped away the tears and glanced at the card-like symbol floating a few feet in front of me.

"In vain and glory they fought, challenging the gods. But they did not prevail. Their fate is to walk the Mist until time's end. A Legend of the Nu Mou." Fran spoke up after the everlasting silence.

"My family told me a story of the Dynast-King with an Esper." Ashe spoke up not too long later. "The Dynast-King defeated a Gigas…and became his as a guardian." Ashe walked up a small set of stairs.

"So, it's been here all this time guarding the treasure." Balthier said.

"No, wrong. The Esper _is _the treasure." I spoke up before Ashe had the time to tell Balthier the truth, ruining Balthier's treasure hopes and dreams. I could've sworn I saw Shiny bob himself up and down, like if he was nodding in agreement. I stared at Shiny for a few seconds before turning back to Ashe, who opened the door.

"Now we control this Esper. Its power rests within…her." Ashe then turned to me and pointed at me. I glanced at everyone, then the floating symbol. Belias was mine to control? I didn't believe it…and it was hard imagining a little teen like me controlling a Gigas. The symbol then floated towards me and absorbed into my chest, a red light coming out of me a bit. It felt hot, then cold, then it felt painful and then relaxing. It was a mixture of everything. I also felt like something was crawling all around a certain part of my back. I tried scratching it, but it wouldn't go away.

"Let's go." Basch said. (Oh, yeah, Vaan finally woke up, in case you were wondering!)

I nodded and held Yuko's hand as we continued into the chamber. We entered a larger room…I was the last to enter, so I didn't know what was up with her as everyone was staring at her. She grabbed the Dawn Shard, placed neatly on the pedestal, and we were all about to leave…until Shiny formed this humongous light and flew in front of the pedestal…and its light turned into this ghostly image of an old man.

"Is that?" Penelo wondered.

"The Dynast-King!" Ashe said in shock. I stared at King Raithwall's ghost…the one who told the story of the Legend.

"**At last, I have found her**." He said, smiling. I then felt something slowly drag me in…and Raithwall walked up to me, placing his ghostly hands on my shoulders.

"**I knew you were to come…that's why I formed into thy smaller figure**." He said to me.

"What are you talking about?" I asked him.

"**My child, so young but so powerful, you are the Legend with the hidden power**." He said. So it was no joke. It was real. I really _was_ the Legend.

"Um…moi?" I pointed to myself. I turned to the others, who all had the same expression on their faces…and those expressions were "I told you so!"

TO BE CONTINUED!! 


	10. Vossey Goes Boom!

_Balthier: Hahahaha, I was telling you this entire time!_

_Fuu: Grr, I can't believe you were right about me being the Legend!_

_Balthier: Who will say this Disclaimer now?_

_Vossler: Ahem. Fuu doesn't own Final Fantasy XII, and that goes for the characters, settings, and plots of the game. However, she owns herself, the young girl Yuko, and these two others named Fini and Misa._

_Balthier: So, enjoy chapter ten :) _

_Fuu: That's my line!!_

_Chapter Ten:_

_Vossey goes boom?!_

There I was. Standing in the Tomb of the Dynast-King…I was face to face with his spiritual figure, and he was telling me that I was truly the Legend he was speaking of. This was superb.

"**Now, now, my child. You seem very tense." **Raithwall spoke up, ending my jaw-dropped facial expression.

"I…uh…I…I WASN'T LITERALLY EXPECTING TO BE A LEGEND, DUDE!" I suddenly shouted. The ghost suddenly began to laugh.

"**It **_**was**_** pretty obvious." **He gently smiled towards me. "**No matter. Now that you know what you are now, I must give you my warning." **I sighed. There were certain precautions to being a Legend? Might as well give me "Raithwall's Legend: For Dummies" as a gift.

"Give it to me." I muttered. (That's what she said!)

"**Your powers are controlled over anger and agony. If they were overused…well…it wouldn't turn very nice. Your mind will only think of those two emotions and will completely take over. You will turn violent and would destroy anything in your path, and that would greatly affect your comrades." **Raithwall said, putting his hands on my shoulders again. The ghostly presence on my shoulders gave me chills down my spine, forming goosebumps all over my arms and the back of my neck. **"The ability to tell upcoming events in life and to control Espers is a strong, willing gift to have. It can also be a nightmare. Please keep in mind that you're using your own skill and strength put into this ability you were given. Use it only when you need it, as it will drain you and weaken you."**

"Don't worry." I said with full confidence all of a sudden. "I trust myself and my needs."

"**Very good. That's my girl.**" Raithwall gave a final smile before his figure faded back into his "Shiny Form"…and he disappeared. I got the last glimpse of him before he vanished, and I collapsed to my knees. _I was just talking to King Raithwall._

"Fuu." Yuko said.

"I'm fine. With Belias and other Espers out there, I think we can save Dalmasca from destruction." I grinned at my new group of friends. Vossler nodded his head, and then he looked at Princess Ashe.

"Your Majesty, we must go."

"Not yet, Vossler." Ashe said, rising up her hand. She walked towards the Dawn Shard, sitting untouched on the pedestal only a few feet in front of her. She then gasped at what she saw next…a ghostly image of her dead husband. "Rasler!" The image disappeared not long after her gasp, and she exhaled. She then grabbed the Dawn Shard.

"Let's leave." Fran said, turning around back into the trials of the tomb. I got up and went up to Balthier.

"Balthier." I said softly. He turned around, and he was shocked when I hugged him, wrapping my arms around him. "Thank you…for earlier." I could tell by his silence that he didn't know how to react about this, but he hugged me back gently, only for a few seconds, but good enough to get rid of my chills from before. My heart beat fast as he gave me that sexy, crooked smile.

"There is nothing to thank me about…but if the young lady wants to thank me, then she shall have my gratitude." He said. He then brought his face closer to mine, whispering to me. "My Legend." He then walked away back where everyone else was walking. I blushed madly, grinned, took out my iPod, and listened to every love song there was on there. One I listened to especially was "If I Fell", originally by the Beatles, but I only had the Across the Universe version, and it was pretty.

"Obsessed much?" Fini asked me, noticing what the screen of my nano said.

"Shut your trap, pixie." I said happily.

"Yeah, she's extremely obsessed." Misa sweatdropped.

We finally made it out of the tomb safe and sound…until we saw a horrible sight. Airships…and they were heading towards us. Ah, crap, they found us. A large airship landed in the area of the Garuda battle and its doors opened up, numerous imperial soldiers coming towards us. There were too many to fight off, so we had to surrender, unfortunately. One guard grabbed my wrists roughly and he was dragging me down the stairs. I took one glance at his face…you've got to be kidding me.

"When will you stop this mischief, girl?" Garbuden asked me, smirking.

"When will you stop appearing everywhere I go?" I muttered to him as I was brought onto the airship.

…

Ghis was smiling at us, not at all shocked to see the group of us again. He was especially smiling at me, since I was the one who really whooped his ass the last time I fought with him.

"Such an honor to see you again, Majesty. The same goes to you, Legend." Ghis smirked. I gave him the finger, but like when I did it before, no one understood my message. "I had begun to worry that we may have given some cause for offense."

"What a large display of remorse, Ghis." Ashe said. "Now what is it that you want?"

"The Nethicite, please." Ghis replied.

"The Nethicite." Penelo said, staring at the prettiful jewel in her hands.

"We seek Raithwall's legacy! We must have the Nethicite!" Ghis said.

"Is power really that wonderful to you, huh?" I yelled. "Leave us alone!" Garbuden punched me in the stomach and I fell to the floor, clenching my stomach in pain.

"Why would I ever leave the Legend of Raithwall alone? Especially with your power, the Nethicite will give me that, as well! Power is great when you think about it; it is no game… Even _you_ should know that, Fuu." Ghis stated.

"Tch. You are right, I do have power, but like I'd use it 24/7, you damn psycho." I said, my voice slightly deepening from the pain. I was actually proud with those words, cuz now I sounded like those tough, Badass babes in TV shows and stuff. One point Fuu, zero points Ghis.

"Hmm…anyway, we must seek out the Nethicite. Did you not tell them Captain Azelas?" Ghis questioned. Everyone stared at Vossler.

"Vossey?" I asked; feeling totally betrayed by someone I trusted. Although I knew it would happen since I played the game before, but; it felt like a much harder situation to face because I became pretty good friends with the guy.

"He speaks of the Dawn Shard. That is the Nethicite." Vossey said.

"Have you gone mad, Vossler?" Basch asked, disappointed.

"We will have to accept the truth for the sake of Dalmasca." Vossler replied. Basch growled angrily and turned to the other direction.

"Think of it. Give us the Dawn Shard and Princess Ashe will restore her throne. A tough choice, I must say. An entire kingdom for a stone." Ghis grinned.

"Damn PSYCHO!" I screamed, running up to Ghis and about to punch him, but I was pulled back by Garbuden and onto the ground. And, sadly, once again, I was out cold.

…

I woke up in a dark chamber, where I saw my wrists tied up in front of me. I sighed. Fuu minus 1, Ghis plus 2. I looked over at everyone else as I walked up to Vaan.

"You didn't miss much. Just Vossler being a traitor."

"This sucks." I sighed.

"Agreed. This sucks bad." Vaan replied.

Then, out of nowhere, Fran was gasping for air, slightly crouching down to the ground.

"Fran?" Vaan asked.

"Such…heat…the Mist, it's burning!" Fran shouted. Uh oh, the scientists were testing out the power of the Dawn Shard. Not good, especially for Fran. She crouched onto the ground completely, gasping more and more in pain. A guard came up.

"You! Stand!" He shouted. Then, out of nowhere, he was thrown back. Everything got quiet…and the only thing heard was Fran's growling. Her long fingernails screeched along the ground into her fists…and her vicious scream broke her shackles and she attacked the guards with her high kicks.

"What's wrong with her?" Penelo asked frantically.

"I always knew Fran wasn't fond of being tied up." Balthier replied, picking the lock of his shackles, releasing them from his wrists. "I just never knew how much."

"Fran's got a good plan. Let's scram, lil doggies!" I shouted, running towards the exit. Before I ran any further, Vossler jumped out in front of me and grabbed my arms, pulling them over my head and turning me around to face the group.

"Fuu!" Yuko shouted.

"No farther, or your precious Legend will have her pretty little throat slit!" Vossey said, putting his sword in front of my neck.

"That would be an awful mess to clean up, you know. I learned that from Sweeney Todd, since they have some rather nasty throat-slitting scenes in the barber shop and—." I said, not very afraid for some odd reason. I guess because I was so used to Vossey that I didn't find him very intimidating.

"First thing I'll cut is that tongue of yours!" He sneered.

"Put her down, Vossler!" Basch said.

"Why do you do this, Basch? This struggle is futile! You must know where it leads!" Vossler stated.

"I do know…a little too well." Basch replied. Vossler aimed his sword at Basch, still clinging onto my wrists. Fini and Misa then flew over and got out my ninja sword and cut the hand Vossler was holding me up with. He let me go and I grabbed the sword, running over to the group.

"There's only one way out…and we must take desperate measures to get to that exit." I said, aiming my own sword at Vossler. "Forgive us, Vossey." We all charged at him and took our best shots. He collapsed onto the ground in pain, and it pained me to see him in that state. All of a sudden, the room began to shake.

"Let's get out of here!" Yuko shouted, grabbing my hand and dragging me to the exit. I turned around and saw Vossler.

"No! Vossey!" I screamed. I managed to get out of Yuko's rather tight grip and I ran back to Vossler. I kneeled down at him.

"Forgive me, my dear Fuu. I'm sorry for holding you up and threatening to end your life." He said, lightly touching my face with his hand.

"There's still some time to stand and come with us! Come on!"

"No. Leave me." Vossler said weakly.

"Vossey, please don't do this!" I said, biting my lip.

"I must. Because I am a son of Dalmasca…" He said, giving me a smile. I lightly hugged him before he pushed me back into Basch, who picked me up.

"I can serve the princess and Legend Fuu no more. You must take my charge." Vossler said. Basch nodded and ran out of the room. We quickly got into the Strahl and I sat in the nearest seat I saw. I glanced out the window as we took off…and the airship self-destructed into flames. Vossler was gone. He will go down into history as a true Dalmascan warrior. I put my palm against the window and the tears came pouring out.

"VOSSLER!!!!!" I cried out, sobbing.

_To be continued…_


	11. Yuko's Ordeal

_Fuu: Vossey's gone :(_

_Yuko: I'll miss him…_

_Fuu: Here's a song for him (Plays "Hide and Seek" by Imogen Heap)_

_Fini: Ahem, Fuu doesn't own Final Fantasy XII as well as its characters, settings, and of course, its plots. But, however, she owns herself, Yuko-chan, Misa-San, and myself._

_Fuu: Shush, damn pixie! You're ruining the moment!_

_Misa: Excuse me. I like this chapter because it is mainly focused on Yuko-chan! It reveals some of her secrets about her life! Enjoy it, and you'll know more about this human cutie pie more than ever! _

_Fini: -Sighs-And like Fuu would say, enjoy chapter eleven!_

_Chapter Eleven:_

_Yuko's Ordeal _

The Strahl brought us back to Rabanastre after so long and I was with everyone, sitting in a room, still grieving over Vossler's sacrifice. I've probably seen his death a thousand times when I played the game back at home, but, I never experienced it like this. It felt sadder now, a lot more painful to face then sitting on the couch holding the game controller. Yuko saw this, and she did her best to comfort me. Even food wasn't helping out with my small depression.

"Fuu, there's no more we can mourn about. He is gone. I am sorry." Yuko said to me. I nodded my head in sad agreement as I gave her a small hug.

"So it was the Dawn Shard that brought down the Imperial Fleet." Basch said, interrupting my touching moment with Yuko-chan.

"You sure know your stuff." Balthier said.

"Destructive power and such force—I have seen it once before." Basch stated. He then looked over to Ashe. "Princess, you probably know what I am speaking of."

"Nabudis, of course." Ashe replied.

"That was the old capital of Old Nabradia." I spoke up. "And also Lord Rasler's fatherland." Ashe looked down at the ground when I mentioned her deceased husband. After that I didn't feel like talking anymore. I took out my nano and listened to some sad songs, like "Forgiven" by Within Temptation, "Hide and Seek" by Imogen Heap, and "In Pieces" by Linkin Park. I then decided that those songs weren't helping me at all, so I put it away not long after I took it out. Ashe stood up from her seat.

"I will use the Dawn Shard's power and to save Dalmasca!" She stated.

"Do you even know how to use it?" Vaan asked her. She paused and sat back down.

"The Garif may know." Fran spoke up. "The Garif people still live by the old ways. Magicite Lore is a part of their culture, and they may hear it."

"Dangerous it may be," Ashe stood up again. "We still need great power now."

"But Fuu-chan is the Legend, why not she use her power to stop the Imperials like brother?" Yuko stood up. Everyone then stared at her in shock, even me.

"You have a brother in the Imperial army?" Balthier asked her. Yuko sulked down and stared at the ground, twiddling her thumbs.

"Uh…I…well…I have one big brother in the human world, and I have two here…and they all belong to the Imperial army." Yuko said in some tone of sadness.

"Tell us, who?" Balthier asked.

"No! I won't say their names, especially _his_!" Yuko shouted.

"Tell me _now_, child." Balthier said more strictly now. Yuko cringed and shook her head no. I stood up.

"Balthier, don't pressure the kid." I stated.

"You stay out of this, girl." He said to me. I then felt treated like a worthless animal when he called me "Girl". That was far worse than being called "Young Lady" or "Legend".

"Why don't you even say my name then? You never do!"

"When the hell did that arise to the problem?" Balthier asked me. I now had my hands in fists now and I looked at the nearest object I could find. I took a piece of spare wood and I threw it at the wall.

"Look! I've got my hands full of disaster right now! One of my good friend's is dead, all of our heads are for a great price right now, and you are not gonna leave this kid alone just because she confessed to something she doesn't want to talk about to us!" I shouted. The room got very quiet for a long period of time. Penelo and Vaan looked down at the ground, Basch stared at the wood I had thrown, and Fran and Ashe were looking at Balthier, who gave me a slightly menacing stare. Ashe then stepped forward.

"Where do the Garif live, Fran?" She asked.

"They live beyond the Ozmone Plain." Fran responded.

"Not exactly close." Balthier said, finally looking over at Ashe.

"Compensation—is that what you want?" Ashe asked him.

"Straight to the point, are we? I like that." Balthier smirked. I felt jealous that Balthier was facing attention to Ashe more than me, even after an argument. I felt like crap, and fighting with Balthier made me feel crappier.

"Compensation you say? How about that ring of yours?" Balthier said, staring at Ashe's engagement ring from Rasler.

"This? Isn't there something else?" She asked kind of upset.

"No one is forcing you." Balthier said. (That's what she said…lol). Ashe took a moment before she finally made her decision. She slid the pretty silver ring off of her tiny, pale finger and handed it to Balthier, who clenched it in his hand. "I'll give it back to you when I find something more valuable." He said. Ashe sighed and walked away from him, slightly disgusted by his ways of greed and treasure.

"Is there something specific that's valuable to you?" Vaan asked Balthier. Balthier put a finger on his chin.

"I'll know when I find it, but I know its close. Tell me, Vaan. What's so valuable to you? What's out there that's great value to you?" Balthier stated.

"M-Me? I…uh…you know." Vaan said, rubbing the back of his head.

"Obviously he wants a girlfriend." Fini chuckled.

"Or at least someone to get laid with." Misa chuckled back. The two pixies giggled like crazy and gave each other a high five.

"You two are effin' sickening." I said standing up. Before I went outside, I felt something tug on my camisole. I turned around and it was Yuko.

"I…feel like talking to you, Fuu-chan." Yuko said rather shyly.

"I have the time." I said. "What are you thinking about?" I questioned her. She glanced at the floor for about five seconds before making eye contact with me again.

"My big brothers...the ones in the Imperial Army…they…they are…Vayne and Larsa." Yuko said. My eyes expanded in shock.

"But…how is that even possible?" I asked.

"It is actually very possible to happen." Misa said. "Vayne and Larsa's mother was probably pregnant the same time Yuko's human mother was pregnant. When they are given birth at the same time, voila. So, pretty much, Yuko is two halves."

"Wow…like Kamichama Karin." I said. "But wait a minute, then how come there aren't two Yuko's walking around Ivalice?"

"That is because the Ivalice Yuko somehow died and her soul was transported to the Real life Yuko. It may seem confusing at first, but the one who was transported to would understand easily." Fini said, looking over at Yuko.

"So, Vayne and Larsa probably think that you're still dead, right?" I asked Yuko.

"Vayne probably still thinks so, but Larsa…Larsa is a tricky one to read. He's a lot smarter than he looks, you know." Yuko stated. I nodded my head.

"You've got that right."

"But…don't you remember at the Lhusu Mines, Fuu-chan?" Yuko asked me.

"Uh…no…I don't…"

…

_"She's listening to her stupid nano again…4 minutes by Madonna and Justin Timberlake…she can never decide her true taste in music, can she?" Fini sighed while traveling through the Lhusu Mines._

"_Nope, I'm afraid not." Yuko smiled. Larsa walked passed her, glanced at her, and then glanced back. _

"_Huh…who might you be, young one?" Larsa asked Yuko. Yuko stared in shock and then shook her head._

"_Yuko…nice to meet you."_

"_I…see…Miss Yuko." Larsa smiled._

"_Shall we…continue?" Yuko asked._

"_Uh…yes…we shall indeed."_

…

"No wonder I forgot all about that! Madonna's voice was so enchanting I didn't take out my ear buds! Forgive me!" I chuckled.

"I am pretty sure Larsa suspects you as his little sister." Misa said.

"I know, I know, but he might not know for sure. I mean, Larsa really doesn't know much about the human world, right?" Yuko mentioned.

"He might. But like you said before, he's one of those tougher kids, the kinds that you can't decode very easily." I pointed out.

"Do you remember anything about your Ivalice self?" Fini asked Yuko.

"Only one thing…everything before that, no." Yuko replied.

…

_"Yuko…Yuko…are you there?" Vayne called out, a year younger version. Yuko, age four, popped out from behind a tall plant, where it looked like she was reading a small book._

"_Big brother Vayne, did you want to see me?" She asked innocently._

"_Come with me. I must speak to you, young one." He said, making a small hand gesture. Yuko walked over and followed Vayne down hallways and corridors to his father's throne room._

"_Is daddy gone? I haven't seen him all day." Yuko said, biting her thumb a bit._

"_He won't be back until tonight, sister." Vayne said. "Now then, what is this here?" Vayne held up a small document. Yuko gasped._

"_That's uh…nothing…" Yuko lied, twiddling with her thumbs and fingers._

"_You snuck into my room again…and stole something rather nasty." Vayne said. "Did you read these documents? DID YOU?" Vayne's voice turned rather harsh now. Yuko bit her lip and then put her hands in fists, staring directly into her older brother's eyes._

"Only the first page! But I was far too disgusted to even continue to the other pages!" Yuko shouted. "You're plotting something evil and desperate! You want to control Dalmasca! You just want supreme power, big brother!"

"_You've read a little too much, you little devil child." He glared._

_"Larsa probably doesn't know about this yet! I'll tell him and he will tell daddy and daddy will send you to prison!" Yuko was dashing out of the room when she turned around to see Vayne charging at her._

"_You're not going anywhere, Yuko!" He shouted. Yuko ran over to the doors and tried to open them, but they weighed much more than her, and Vayne grabbed her._

"_Put me down! LARSA! HELP! HELP ME!" She screeched loudly. Vayne snickered as he walked up to a window, opening it up._

"_The Imperial daughter shall not live to see the day Vayne Solidor rules the entire kingdom. What a shame, I must exclaim. But, it was your desire to look into that confidential information, you know. So long, devil child." Vayne said as he carelessly tossed Yuko into the air, and she fell over 50 stories down onto the ground, falling on her head. Her corpse was left in the middle of the royal gardens._

………

"Did Vayne do anything that wasn't a sin?" I asked.

"Probably not." Fini mumbled.

"That's all I remember…the day of my death. He still thinks I am deceased, but he is going to be rather shocked when he finds out that my head is for a price today." Yuko spoke up. "When we see Vayne, I swear, he will see my face and that will be the last thing he'll see, like how his face was the last thing I saw."

"Bold and frightening words for a toddler." I shuttered. Yuko laughed.

"Fuu-chan, you've made this journey so entertaining and nourishing for a poor, young girl like myself!" Yuko giggled. "I love having you around! Same goes with you, Fini and Misa!" We all grinned and finally walked out of the room and into the streets of Rabanastre. While we got outside into the fresh air, I saw Balthier against the door.

"I should've known that someone had been eavesdropping onto my little conversation." Yuko sighed. Balthier smiled.

"I didn't mean to." He said. "I just came to apologize to my dear young lady. I was rude." I blushed and sighed.

"Same goes with me here. I'm sorry, Balthier. Just stress getting to me occasionally." I stated. Balthier put his hands on my shoulders.

"That's my girl. Now, we will be leaving soon, so stock up, okay?" He smiled. I nodded, smiling back.

"You gotcha, buddy!" I said, giving him a thumb's up and running into the closest shop I could find.

…

We still had about twenty minutes before departing to the Ozmone Plains, so we stopped by the Sandsea to get some drinks. And no, I didn't order a beer. I looked at the menu this time.

"So, tell us about how your big brother pushed you into Ivalice. You never got into much detail about that." I said after eating some sort of salad dish.

"Well, I was going to tell my big brother Hiroyuki that it was time to go to see my cousin's play she was in, but he just stared at the television screen, and Misa was talking to him about something. He seemed pretty angry, so he said to turn off the TV screen, since his remote control was broken, so I went up to the screen to turn it off, but he pushed me in before I had time to press the little button." Yuko said, after gulping down her drink (which wasn't beer also.)

"I see. Misa, what were you guys talking about? I mean, you and that Hiroyuki guy?" I turned my head towards Misa.

"Oh, that? Well, long story short, Hiroyuki was kinda in love with me, although he never saw me, he only heard my voice." Misa stated, slightly blushing.

"Ooh, how steamy!" Fini stated.

"Shut it! That day, he confessed his love to me, but I said that I couldn't love him back because I was a game guardian and I could never come out of the world of Ivalice. It ticked him off, resulting in him pushing Yuko-chan into the television screen." Misa sighed.

"Whoa, that's insanity." I said, raising my eyebrows. I glanced over and saw Vaan and Penelo looking up at me.

"Hey, you two, we're ready to take off to Ozmone Plains." Penelo called up to us. I took the last few bites of my salad dish and I put my backpack on, ready to leave. I walked down next to the two seventeen-year olds while Yuko held my hand.

"Everyone else is probably at the entrance to the Giza Plains," Vaan said. "Balthier sent the two of us to get you."

"Right. Well, here we are." I said.

"Balthier said it will raining there, so there are some fiends there that are a lot stronger than previous ones." Penelo said.

"We're tough cookies! We can totally handle some baddies!" Yuko spoke up.

"You heard the girl." I pointed at Yuko-chan.

"Then, let's go. We have no time to waste." Vaan said as we approached everyone else in our party.

"We ready to depart?" Fran asked us.

"Yuppers!" I exclaimed loudly.

"To Ozmone Plains!" Yuko also exclaimed loudly. We were stepping out of Rabanastre, and also stepping out of the prologue to our adventure…this was just the beginning, because there is still so much more to come.

_To be continued…_

_Ooh, Yuko's secrets are being revealed, but will there be more? Maybe like her previous memories that are very faint to her mind, will she finally remember them? Or, let's go to Fuu, will the group learn more about the mysterious Dawn Shard? Will they ever arrive at the Ozmone Plains? And will Fuu be determined to win Balthier's heart, even when he doesn't even know her likings towards him...or does he? Who knows! Keep reading! and thank you, fans of this fanfic, for reading this! I heart you all!_

_-da Panda (Fuu-Chan) :D_


	12. A 'Journey' To Remember

_Penelo: -Yawns- Boy, how many chapters are we in now?_

_Fuu: This will be our twelfth!_

_Vaan: Twelve chapters? We're not even half way through and nothing really happened!_

_Fini: That's your complaint…_

_Fuu: He can't hear you, Fini._

_Vaan: Why are you talking to yourself, Fuu?_

_Fuu: I'm not talking to myself, stubborn jerkness!_

_-Bickering continues-_

_Penelo: Er…I'll guess I'll say this time's disclaimer then. Well, Fuu doesn't own Final Fantasy XII, including its characters, settings, and plots. However, she owns herself, Yuko, and these two other girls named Fini and Misa._

_Fuu: Oh, yeah, there's also a special singing part in this chappy! I won't name the song now, but I sure hope you like 80's music._

_Fini: I am officially afraid now…_

_Fuu: Well, enjoy this—_

_Vaan: New, updated chapter!_

_Fuu: GRRRR! LET ME SAY MY LINE AGAIN!!!_

_Chapter Twelve:_

_A "Journey" to Remember_

We were heading to the village of Jahara, where the Garif people lived. We were also walking through tons of rainy weather, and we didn't feel very drenched, and it didn't affect my hair at all! Ivalice was the perfect place…your hair stayed the same! I folded my arms and continued walking in the front of the pack, right next to all the older people in the group, like Fran, Ashe, Basch, and Balthier. Penelo and Vaan kept an eye on Yuko while I acted mature and had great posture while walking around like an older member of the group.

"So, my friends, let's use some big words in our vocabulary to fulfill our sentences of communication, conversing, and chatting! Shall we?" I exclaimed contentedly. They all stared at me puzzled and continued their conversation…without me. I sighed. "I will always suck at fitting in, huh?" I went back to the rear of the pack and held Yuko's hand, as usual.

"Wow, this place isn't much exciting when it's all rainy." Vaan sighed.

"Agreed, agreed." Penelo, well, agreed.

"Hey! I know what to do to amuse us for the time being! Let's play 'never have I ever'!" I said excitedly. Everyone, even the two game guardians, stared at me.

"Is that a game?" Penelo asked me.

"Uh-huh, the rules are simple. Hold up five of your fingers and say something that you've never done, and if the other competitors DID do the thing you said sometime in their life, they have to put a finger down. If they didn't do that something, they gain one finger. Whoever has the most fingers remaining wins!" I explained to the group of friends. They all nodded and put five fingers up. (I first played this game at band camp! It's so much fun! You readers should try it with your group of friends sometime, too, you know!)

"You start, Fuu." Vaan said to me. I nodded my head up and down.

"Okay. Never have I ever stolen something!" I said. Vaan muttered a cuss word as he put one finger down. Penelo put one finger up, same with Yuko. It was Yuko's turn now.

"Here it goes! Never have I ever kissed someone!" Yuko stated. I gained a finger as well as Vaan, who looked at me with a rather shocked expression.

"Fuu? YOU'VE NEVER BEEN KISSED BEFORE?" He asked me rather loudly with a shocked tone. I raised my eyebrows and playfully rolled my eyes.

"And that's a big concern to you _because_?" I asked him, playing with my fingernails, slightly embarrassed about the topic. It's true, no kiss, and no luck for me.

"Well…I thought you were the type to…uh…let yourself go." He stuttered some words. I gave him a demonic stare as Fini and Misa almost pissed themselves in laughter in my backpack. Yuko, being at her young, innocent age, didn't know what that meant and didn't understand the joke Vaan had said. Penelo lightly slapped him in the back of the head.

"Let's continue this, please, Vaan." She exhaled. She put down one finger. Our eyes grew quite wide by putting a finger down.

"Penelo, you kissed someone before?" I asked her, surprised. She blushed; slightly embarrassed by the subject she was speaking of.

"Well…it was a dare about a year ago…with Kytes." She said. Vaan threw his head back in shock.

"Kytes? KYTES? That wimp?" Vaan asked in shock. Penelo giggled.

"It's not like I like him that way, Vaan! Besides, it was for about two to three seconds!" Penelo playfully snapped back at him. I grinned.

"Your turn, Vaan." I said. He nodded his head and put up his five fingers.

"Never have I ever…uh…touched another girl's boobs." He said. We all didn't put our fingers down, obviously. I then saw Balthier and Basch walk up to our small little line where we were playing the fun game.

"What is this?" Basch asked me.

"Never have I ever! Wanna play?" I asked them. Basch and Balthier looked at each other. Balthier shrugged his shoulders and began walking next to me.

"Here, let's let Balthier have a try." Penelo said, giving her turn to him. He raised an eyebrow and put his finger to his chin. After a few seconds, he removed his finger.

"Never have I ever tripped on my own two feet." He then looked at me and smiled. I rolled my eyes and gave him a smirk as I put my finger down, while everyone else had their fingers up. Penelo's turn was next…

"Okay, never have I ever had impure thoughts of somebody!" Penelo exclaimed. I put down my finger; because of all the sensual thoughts of Balthier that I had before I even came into Ivalice…and some other people, like some guys at my school and celebrities like Johnny Depp and stuff… Basch, shockingly, put down his finger; Yuko didn't put down hers, because she was a good child. Then Balthier put his finger down. I glanced at him.

"You dirty man." I smiled at him slyly. He raised an eyebrow and smiled back at me, staring straight into my eyes.

"Speak for yourself. You put your finger down." He grinned my favorite smile at me. I gave him a signature look of mine, sort of a combo of rolling my eyes with a smile. I had fun playing the game, but Yuko ended up being the winner, Basch coming in second place. Of course, I was rather unlucky to waste all of my fingers away, confessing some rather embarrassing secrets. The rain wouldn't stop and we had to pretty much run to get out of the way for fiends chasing us 24/7. We reached a save crystal, replenishing ourselves, and we decided to rest for a little while before we continued marching ahead. Besides, it was getting pretty dark already. We set up a little tent near this monster-less area and decided to get a good night's rest. Tomorrow we probably would've made it to the Ozmone Plains and where the Garif people were located.

Unfortunately, though, the rain was pounding so hard on my tent that I couldn't even shut my eyes without being intruded by it. I sat up in my seat and was about to grab my iPod…

"You." I heard a voice behind me. I turned around and saw Balthier.

"What's up?" I asked him, slightly disappointed of getting the title 'you'.

"I just want to show you this." Balthier took out a map. I arranged my seating so I could get a better look at it. I grabbed my cell phone and used it as a light to see certain words on the map. It wasn't in my language, but I recognized the places easily.

"We're about here," Balthier pointed to a spot on the map. "If we travel downwards a bit longer, we'll reach the Ozmone Plain. We travel around there until we find the Garif people." I nodded my head. I acted like I just processed this information for the very first time, although I knew exactly where to go.

"Okay. When should we wake up tomorrow?" I asked him.

"I'll be sure to wake you." He said to me. I nodded my head again. I then glanced over at Yuko, who was more successful in falling asleep than I was. She looked like a little China doll when she had her eyes closed like that. The cuteness could barely be contained inside. I was going to look at the map again until I felt Balthier touch my shoulder. Soon, he pulled me in closer to him. I blinked a few times before glancing up to see his chin rest on my head.

"Balthier, what are you doing?" I asked quietly.

"I just feel like you're the only person that I know that makes me feel…glad." He responded. I blushed at this comment.

"M-me? I'm just a soon-to-be ninth grader that's totally obsessed with this game." I exclaimed. He suddenly pulled me in tighter. I leaned onto his chest…and felt a heartbeat. It wasn't fast or slow, it was the perfect beat.

"I never realized how a young girl like you would accompany us on such a journey like this." He stated to me. I had to agree with him.

"Me either. I was just sitting on my couch at home, playing this game, eating a pop tart. I wasn't expecting to get zapped into the game itself." I said. "It's really a lot more amazing when you start thinking about it more. I don't think stuff like this happens every single day." He pulled me in tighter. I began to feel my cheeks burn up like crazy now.

"Not only that, but I believe you were destined to do this," He said. "You _are_ the Legend after all, my dear."

"That's also something unbelievable." I exclaimed, a small chuckle coming up between the words I had said. This moment felt weird, almost to a moment in 'Twilight', between Edward and Bella. I'm not the biggest Twilight geek out there, but, I liked reading the books and watching the film (enough Twilight talk now, I don't want to start up random conversations about the book now).

"May I see your back?" He suddenly asked me. I blinked. I then remembered what happened a few nights ago back at Bhujerba. But, I didn't want to ruin the moment, so I nodded. I took off my black zip-up hoodie and turned around to show my back. He had to lift up some of my white camisole to see what he needed to see. "It's there." I heard him say. Good thing there was a mirror in this tent. I saw my back…markings of yellow in a strange, circular pattern. It looked like a glow-in-the-dark tattoo. It was all bright yellow, except one little circular orangey-red swirl on one of the corners the marking.

"I get it now," I exclaimed softly. "This represents the Espers I receive." Balthier nodded.

"Legends control Espers like pets. This is the sign that the Espers belong to you and only you." Balthier exclaimed. I took another good look at my back…but Balthier wasn't lifting my camisole down.

"Uh…Balthier?" I hinted him to leave my cami alone.

"Oh." He mumbled, pulling down the camisole and handing me my hoodie. I put it back on, blushing madly once more. He then looked into my eyes. His almond-colored eyes were tantalizing and gorgeous, as I did nothing but stare in awe and slight bewilderment.

"Do be careful, my young lady." He said to me before he stood up and left. He went to his own tent as I sat there, confused at what just happened.

………………………………………………………

I felt someone shaking me. I then remembered how Balthier said he would wake me up. Unaware of drool slowly dripping from the side of my mouth, I glanced up and smiled.

"Hi, baby." I mumbled happily to the one I loved, like they did in the movies.

"Hello…baby?" A voice that _wasn't _Balthier's awoke me completely. My eyes blinked, I wiped away the droll from my mouth, and I saw Vaan look down at me.

The slap on his face must've been painful.

We all get ready for more walking on this bright and sunny day (No more rain!).

"To the Ozmone Plain!" Yuko said as Basch carried her on his shoulders. I smiled and looked at my group of friends from behind. Fran with her bunny-ness and point feet, Balthier with his sexy strides, Basch carrying Yuko, Vaan limping from beating him up this morning (oops!), Penelo and her weird jumpsuit outfit, and Ashe with her mind always pondering with her life problems. Then there was Fini floating above Ashe, not a soul but Yuko and myself seeing her. Misa was gliding swiftly through the air right beside Fran. Then there was I; a young 14-year old girl with strawberry blonde hair, shorter than shoulder-length, with a rib-length black zip-up hoodie, blue jeans, white tennis shoes, and a crazy-ass personality.

We probably had a really funny looking group.

We continued walking through the rest of the Giza Plains, which took a few more hours. I listened to my iPod. I happily put it on shuffle, where "Don't Stop Believin'" by Journey began playing. That sparked an idea. I immediately clicked a button on my iPod that contained the lyrics to the song, and gathered everyone around.

"Everyone, we're gonna sing a little bit to unwind!" I exclaimed.

"Sing what?" Ashe asked, annoyed by this whole concept.

"Don't Stop Believin'! Possibly the best song in the 80's besides Livin' on a Prayer! Now, here are the lyrics, and just sing along!" Everyone glanced at each other, but after an hour of practicing, they got it down perfectly…

**Don't Stop Believin'**

**By: Journey**

Fuu: "_Just a small town girl, livin in a lonely world. She took the midnight train goin anywhere_"

Yuko: "_Just a city boy, born and raised in south detroit. He took the midnight train goin anywhere"_

_-Awesome pause with some electric guitar-ness!-_

Balthier: "_A singer in a smokey room. A smell of wine and cheap perfume. For a smile they can share the night. It goes on and on and on and on_"

Vaan: "_Strangers waiting, up and down the boulevard. Their shadows searching in the night_"

Penelo: "_Streetlight people, living just to find emotion. Hiding, somewhere in the night_"

Basch: "_Working hard to get my fill, Everybody wants a thrill. Payin anything to roll the dice, Just one more time"_

Ashe: "_Some will win, some will lose. Some were born to sing the blues. Oh, the movie never ends It goes on and on and on and on_."

Fran: "_Strangers waiting, up and down the boulevard. Their shadows searching in the night. Streetlight people, living just to find emotion. Hiding, somewhere in the night."_

-_An even better electric guitar part!-_

Everyone (Even Fini and Misa): "_Dont stop believin! Hold on to the feelin! Streetlight people! Dont stop believin! Hold on! Streetlight people! Dont stop believin! Hold on to the feelin! Streetlight people!"_

"This is why I truly love you all." I said after the success of singing the song.

"What was that supposed to do again?" Penelo asked.

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing." Fran said, walking away. Basch, Balthier, and Ashe agreed with her as they walked away as well. Vaan and Penelo shrugged their shoulders and followed them to get out of the Giza Plains. I stared down at Yuko.

"Really, Fuu, did that really help us at all?" Yuko asked me.

"It did! It brought up the mental success of how far we've come! OH! We should also sing 'How Far We've Come' by Matchbox Twenty next!" I exclaimed. Misa rolled her eyes.

"I've wasted enough time." She said as she flew away.

"Wait for me, Misa!" Yuko said, chasing after her game guardian.

"W-w-wait!" I said, reaching out my arm. "Maybe not How Far We've Come, maybe some Reefer Madness! Yeah! We could so sing 'Tell 'Em The Truth' from Reefer Madness! That'll be wicked awesome!" I said.

"Fuu, stop wasting our time. We need to get to Jahara for Raithwall's sake." Fini sighed, flying after the group of friends. I just stood there.

"They don't know what motivation truly is, do they?" I mumbled to myself angrily, whistling Don't Stop Believin' while I followed the group of friends out of the Giza Plains.

…………………………

We made it to the Ozmone Plain! The grass was green, the skies were blue, and monsters were prowling everywhere you looked! Goodie…not!

"Jahara is closeby." Ashe said.

"We just need to get through these guys." Vaan stated.

"Remember everyone!" I jumped out and striked a pose. "Don't Stop Believin'!" There was a long pause before everyone groaned.

"Fuu, just be quiet with that for twenty minutes, please." I heard Basch say.

"That's pathetic." Ashe stated.

"I'm sick of that." Fran mumbled.

"Jesus…" I muttered, being at the back of the pack again.

The monsters were tougher than I thought, but with a little help from my friends and my ninja sword, we took them down in a flash! We walked through, found some items, until we saw…a Garif tribe member! He was hunting for some food (and found something he hunted, a rather nasty looking bird thing) and spotted us following him to Jahara. He looked like he didn't notice us at all, but he kept looking back, probably scared shitless. We saw the entrance to Jahara, with Garif people, a moogle selling chocobos, a save crystal, and more Garif people. We made it!

"Who are you? This is Garif land. No place for Hume-children to play games." A Garif warrior said to us.

"They are only wayfarers," A voice said. "They don't bring harm." It was the Garif guy that we followed. War-Chief Supinelu. "They are great warriors. They crossed the Ozmone Plain and fought down any fiend in their path."

"They…" The other Garif began to say. "They fought down fiends? And you were out there, too, chief?" Supinelu ignored the Garif and turned to us.

"What business do you have with the Garif people?" He asked us.

"Well…" Basch began explaining. Supinelu nodded his head.

"Let them pass. Responsibility shall be mine." Supinelu exclaimed to the other Garif.

"Are you certain, war-chief?" the Garif asked him. Supinelu nodded his head slowly. The Garif opened up the entrance into the village and our funny looking group entered. The village was so similar to an Indian tribe village that I almost felt like I was somewhat back home, maybe in some sort of museum place or something. But, it felt like the United States to me. We explained more information to Supinelu as he took us to where the High chief was. And that was High-chief Zayalu.

"More Humes?" Was the first thing Zayalu said to us "They're a little bigger this time, but, no matter. You need not to tell me anything. I already know. You have come to our village to learn about the stones…the Nethicite."

Smart old geezer, I thought. I was also thinking about the other Hume that was here…and what did he mean by 'bigger'? In height, or just a sexual innuendo…?

"We Garif have knowledge of this, passed down from father to son, mother to daughter. Some of it remains; some has been lost in history's sands… I know nothing of the stones. You must speak to the Great-Chief. He alone holds the great knowledge of these things. He alone remembers all the tellings. Cross the bridge to the north, and there you will find him. There are watchers at the bridge, so I think it best to speak with War-Chief Supinelu." Zayalu continued. "Oh, and a favor to ask of you. Can you give this to Supinelu for me?" He held up a wooden stick with little carvings in them. For some reason, he handed it to me. I blinked and noticed how heavy the pole-stick thingy was.

"A Jaya stick." Fini said to me.

"You don't have to rush to give it to him," Zayalu said to us. "Just give it to him when you see him next." I nodded my head.

"Thanks dude." I said.

"May you find all the answers you seek." He said to us. We left to find Supinelu again.

"Fuu, is something wrong?" Misa asked me.

"It's nothing, but," I began. "I just realized how far I am from home. I never put any thought into it. My parents could be worried sick about me; I'm missing my marching band performances and practices. I'm missing _a lot_ of things back on Earth." I stated. It was true. I was in the middle of a game, on some unknown planet, away from my house. I never felt so alone before. Ever.

"What made you think of it?" Fini asked me.

"I…I honestly don't know why." I replied. As we were walking around the village of Jahara, we finally found Supinelu. I handed him the Jaya stick.

"This is a Jaya stick." He said, although he didn't mean to review it to us. "The High-Chief has given this…to me? I shall receive it. I thank you for bringing it to me. Now, did you learn what you wished? No, do not tell me. It is written clear upon your face. So, even the High Chief could not help. Then, you must meet with the Great-Chief."

How many chiefs were in this flippin' village?

"I would like to meet with him." Vaan said to Supinelu.

"He will know something to aid you. But, arranging with him might be difficult…" Supinelu exclaimed. This whole situation of going from one person to the next reminded me of the Spaghetti Dinner. The Spaghetti Dinner was something that the band boosters did for the band and choir at our school to help raise money for them and trips to Chicago and Virginia Beach stuff. The trips were fun, but the Spaghetti Dinner was a pain in the ass. You went around all over the school cafeteria, serving little crying kids and slow old ladies and their grumpy old husbands. It was torturous and just plain confusing.

We went back to the High Chief to arrange the meeting with the Great Chief. Ashe begged him to arrange it, telling him about her relations with Raithwall and all that crap. After a short while, Zayalu let us through to the Great Chief.

Ashe handed him the Nethicite and he was glancing at it with full seriousness.

"You have used it." He said to us.

"It was not I who used it." Ashe stated to him.

"Long ago, the gods gave us these stones to use. But we failed to use it for good power. The gods were displeased with our failures and took them back, and instead, they gave them to Hume-king Raithwall. He brought peace in troubled times, and spoke of many stories of this Legend through the stones powers." He stated. He then looked at me. I glanced around the room, then back at the Great Chief.

"Yeah…me." I said, knowing exactly what I was.

"The Legend and even ones with Raithwall's blood running through their veins cannot use the power of Nethicite." Great Chief said.

"Cannot use it?" Ashe asked, appalled. "So, you can't tell me HOW to use it?"

"Although you are in relation to Raithwall himself, I am afraid that I cannot help you." He sighed. He handed the Nethicite back to a very disappointed Ashe (besides, she was the one who wouldn't shut up about how to use the stone in the first place. Now, we're gonna hear her not shut up about how she can't use it for sure now.)

"The Mists are gone in the stone," Great chief continued. "As well as the stone's power. It will be your posterity to wield it in ages yet to come." Ashe looked down at the ground and said nothing. "Although the stone is empty, it longs for power. It thirsts for it. A longing to drink the world dry."

That thought made me shiver a bit.

Then, out of nowhere, we heard footsteps behind us. Every one of us turned around and saw a person we least expected to see.

"Larsa?" Penelo said in shock.

Indeed, it was Larsa. I looked down at Yuko, who was holding my hand, and I felt her hand clamp around mine tighter than before.

…………………………………………

We were going to stay in the Jahara village for the night, and it was getting pretty dark. The Garif people showed us little huts to stay in, and there was one to share with Yuko, Penelo, Ashe, and Fran. I wasn't too tired, so I decided to walk around the village a bit. Torches were light, so I saw paths so I wouldn't get too lost. Yuko, Fini, and Misa (as always) were by my side, although, for the first time, we didn't say a word to each other. It felt really strange…and extremely awkward. While the silence was presuming, I thought about how long I had been in Ivalice.

The first day was when I met up with Vaan (who I startled a lot that day) and Fran and Balthier. That was also the day where we wound up in the Garamsythe waterway and met up with Ashe, who disguised her name as Amalia. We were then captured by Vayne and taken to prison. That was one day. The second day was in prison, where we escaped and met up with Basch. We got out and stayed in Rabanastre, where I first met Yuko in the Sandsea. We then headed up to Bhujerba to rescue Penelo, and we went through the Lhusu mines, met Larsa, ran away from Ba'Gamnan and his cronies, Vaan and I disguised ourselves as Ronsenburgs, we were taken to Ondore, and arrested again. A lot happened that second day. The third day was getting out of that airship, meeting up with Vossler, Ashe and Penelo, beating up Ghis with my Legend-y powers. We came back to Bhujerba, revisited Ondore, and stayed in his place for a couple of hours before sneaking out with Ashe. The fourth day was spent mostly in the Estersand. We met up with Vossler again, went to Raithwall's temple place, beat up Garuda, beat up the demon walls, obtained Belias the Esper, found out I was the Legend fo sho, got out of the place, were arrested AGAIN, Fran went ballistic, Vossey went boom, and we went back to Rabanastre. I learned Yuko's secret, Ashe gave up her wedding ring from Rasler, and we started to go through the Giza Plains. We took a rest at night to sleep. We awoke today, sang some Journey, went past the Ozmone Plains, met with Supinelu, Zayalu and the Great Chief in Jahara, and now I'm here. It was the fifth day in Ivalice, and tomorrow would be the sixth day.

"Holy shit." I heard myself say, with a big tone of surprise in my voice. Fini, Misa, and Yuko looked up at me. "We've been here, I mean Ivalice, for five days, soon to be six, actually! Everything went by so…slowly yet quickly!" I stated in even more shock.

"It is to a certain extent a surprising truth." Yuko nodded her head and smiled. Around then is when I realized that Ashe and Larsa were talking in private. We intruded their conversation. Yuko's smile faded away when she spotted Larsa. Larsa was looking directly at _her_.

"Legend, you are looking in good health for your young age." Larsa smiled at me.

_He should be talking about himself! How old is that guy, anyway? _I was thinking.

"Er…yeah." I really said. Yuko tugged onto my cami, which was a sign to not talk to Larsa and just get the hell out of the area.

"Little Yuko, I must say the same to you." Larsa gave a grin to Yuko. She said nothing, looking in a whole other direction. Ashe seemed by the entire thing, and just walked away to the bridge. I was walking, making a hand gesture for the game guardians and Yuko to follow my lead, but Larsa stood up. "Yuko, may we talk?" She froze dead in her tracks, her face similar to a deer in headlights.

"What is there to talk about, Larsa?" Yuko asked.

"A lot, actually." He responded. Yuko sighed softly and turned around to face Larsa.

"Fuu, please leave." She said to me. I nodded my head and walked away. Fini and Misa were following, but it wasn't long before Misa turned around and hid behind a large boulder.

"Misa? Don't sneak around into Yuko's business!" Fini hissed.

"I just want to know what's going on!" Misa hissed back. Fini looked at me.

"Fuu, what should we do?" Fini asked me. I put my hand to my face. I was literally waiting for a little option menu, like in the games, to appear and say: "Stay and listen" or "Walk Away".

"It could be useful information about Yuko-chan." I heard myself say, and I crouched behind the boulder, right beside Misa. Fini sighed and flew over, also hiding behind the boulder. The conversation was just beginning between the two siblings.

"Yuko…" Larsa said.

"I know, I know, I'm alive!" Yuko shouted.

"But, I could've sworn you were dead ever since I found you in the gardens! You were lying in that pool of blood, eyes wide open, pulse undetectable! Did I miss something important? Something dire? Why are you alive and at full health?" Larsa had so many questions going through his head, the poor kid. I didn't blame him. If I found that my five-year old sister was dead and you suddenly see her walking around on two feet like nothing happened, I would be pretty darn confused as well.

"It's a lot to explain, brother," Yuko exclaimed. "But, you cannot trust Vayne!"

"It is agreeable," Larsa said sadly. "The brother I once knew is now hard to even look into the eyes."

"It was always difficult for me, too…" Yuko sighed. "But, listen to me, Larsa. You CANNOT tell brother Vayne that I am still alive! He will only try to kill me all over again, just like the day of my death all over again!"

"I won't tell him." Larsa said to her. He was so kind to her, just like a true brother. I peeked and saw Yuko…with tears streaming down her cheeks. It was the first time I had seen Yuko cry. She hugged Larsa, tight. He hugged back, of course.

"It's just so great to see you, brother." Yuko said through sobs. They weren't sobs of sadness though; they were sobs of joy and wonder.

Joy and wonder: exactly what Yuko-chan has brought to my life.

_**To be continued…**_


	13. Takin' It To Golmore!

_Fuu: -singing- Look for a skyyyyy of bluuuueee!_

_Balthier: What is the young lady doing now?_

_Fuu: I'm in a musical back at my school!_

_Balthier: Muse…sick…all?_

_Yuko: I like musicals! Which one are you performing?_

_Fuu: Little Mary Sunshine!_

_-Silence-_

_Yuko: Never heard of it…_

_Fuu: It's actually not bad!_

_Yuko: What part do you play? Mary Sunshine?_

_Fuu: A very important role, actually…_

_Yuko: Yes? Yes?_

_Fuu: I'm in the orchestra, bitches!_

_-Another silence-_

_Balthier: I don't know what that is, but by the silence I heard previously, its probably something that ruined the moment…_

_Yuko: Balthier wins._

_Fuu: W-w-what? The orchestra is the KEY to musicals! The flipping KEY!_

_Misa: Fuu doesn't own Final Fantasy XII. She owns her stupid self, Yuko-chan, and Fini and myself._

_Fuu: I ain't stupid, Misa!_

Going Into Ivalice

**Chapter 13: Takin' it to Golmore!**

Tea. I smelled tea when I woke up in Jahara. Like everyone does sometime in their life, I had no idea where in the heavens I was. Then I remembered yesterday. I was in the tent, with Yuko, Fran, and Penelo. Ashe was probably whining about something outside of our tent (Princesses were always such spazzes! I just noticed that! Even in Disney films, they spazz out about something!)

"Morning." I mumbled, combing out my hair with my fingers.

"Good morning, Fuu-chan!" Yuko greeted cheerfully. Obviously she was happy about being with her brother, Larsa. They really DID look like siblings, but I never paid any attention to it since she told me about their related blood relationship back in Rabanastre.

"We made tea!" Fini said in her high-pitched voice. Misa and Fini attempted to carry the heavy teapot over to me…but they managed to spill the hot water all over my lap…

"Oh, my!" Yuko screeched. I sat there, feeling the burning hot water sizzle on my lap and through my once-comfortable blanket.

"H…h…." I muttered angrily. Misa and Fini looked nervous and apologetic, but that didn't stop me from my anger. "HHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!"

…………………………………

"We'll be leaving in five minutes." Fran said to me. I just learned that we had to go to Mt. Bur-Omisace, a snowy, holy place that had more keys and wisdom to Nethicite. Ashe wouldn't shut up about that, either.

"Hey, Fuu!" Yuko called over to me. "Can you dress me?"

"Sure thing, kiddo." I stated. During the night, we all got this really comfy sleepwear that the Garif made for us. They were probably made of some kind of animal fur (I didn't want to think about that, really) and they smelled just like pine. It made me sleep much better than previous nights on Ivalice. I slept in a prison, a couple of airships, and in a crappy little tent. Now, I slept in a coolish hut, with sleepwear, too!

"Fuu, I forgot to tell you! Larsa is happy that I'm alive and healthy!" Yuko said, talking about the conversation she had with her big brother last night. I acted like I heard the story for the very first time, even though I eavesdropped on their little chitchat. I pulled her red and orange striped shirt over her head, her oversized sleeves drooping down past her hands. She looked like some kind of fictional manga character come to life. She was just so adorable!

"One minute, you two!" Fini said as she spotted everyone else waiting for Yuko and me. I finished putting on my own clothes and met up with my friends outside.

"Lets a-go-go!" I said happily, putting my backpack on. We were leaving for Mt. Bur-Omisace until Supinelu ran towards us.

"Here is a gift for you." He said. Of course, he handed it to me. A bow and some onion arrows! Of course, I didn't need them, Fran did.

"Thanks, Supinelu." I nodded my head in gratitude. He nodded back and bowed at us before trotting away. "Happy birthday to Fran." I stated, handing Fran the items. I heard her sigh in a 'can't-she-carry-all-of-this-crap-on-her-own?' way.

"Oh, waaaaaaiiittt!" Supinelu's voice returned. Honestly, I would've never though that he would've been someone to shout "waaaaaaiiittt!" it was somewhat unexpected.

"What's up?" I asked him.

"You can also ride those chocobos! They're free!" Supinelu said. He ran off once more, saying about a dozen more farewells. He needs to take chill pills.

"Chocobos? CHOCOBOS!" I squealed excitedly, rushing over to where I saw the cute little moogle selling the chocobos. Without hesitating for a moment, I climbed up the chocobos (which must've been painful for the poor bird, because I was doing a poor job of climbing…) and sat nicely on its back near its neck, where I stroked it gently. The chocobo purred like a kitten.

"I wanna ride one, too!" I heard Yuko say. I also could've sworn that I heard Larsa chuckle…

Oh, Larsa? What was _he_ doing in our group? Well, he decided he wanted to go to Mt. Bur-Omisace, too…for another one of his 'businesses'.

Yuko got a smaller chocobo, perfect for her petite size, and had to get Basch's help to get on its back. She looked too cute to be true on the chocobo.

"Ready for takeoff!" She said with full happiness.

We were finally off to snowy land!

We headed out of Jahara and had to go through the Ozmone Plain again. It was another beautiful, sunny day. It felt like one of those days where it had been 10 degrees for so long, and then it suddenly turned into 50 or 60-degree weather. Absolutely perfect!

We followed Balthier's handy-dandy map…all the way to the entrance of a rather creepy looking area. Golmore Jungle.

"Yuko, be careful," I said, getting off of my chocobo, letting it rest by the save crystal we stopped by near the entrance of the jungle. "This place is pretty dangerous, I don't want you to get lost or hurt."

"I won't, I promise you!" Yuko winked. I glanced over at Misa, who was giving me a suspicious stare.

"Isn't Yuko acting a bit TOO happy lately?" She asked me quietly. I glanced over at Yuko, and then turned away to whisper more to Misa.

"A bit. She's probably just happy because of Larsa and stuff." I responded. Misa nodded.

"I'm just afraid that she's gonna completely forget the situation we're in now. She might get ahead of herself." Misa said. I blinked.

"What do you mean by that?"

"She might be too happy about Larsa's acceptance and might completely forget that he's apart of the Imperial army…and Vayne's younger brother." Misa stated softly.

"Yuko's not like that," I began. "She'll be just fine, I bet."

"Stop muttering to yourself and let's go." Balthier said to me as he walked right into the shadiness of the jungle. I gave him a scowl and followed him, Yuko grabbing hold of my hand as we entered in the jungle.

It was probably the most humid place you'd ever imagine.

Thank the Lord for not having my hair defy my flat iron and go crazy and curly, because it does that when humidity is in the air. The ground was this ancient looking stone like primordial parts of Machu Picchu in Peru. There were all sorts of exotic looking plants and flowers that would look good in any girl's hair. I had to take a purple lily-looking flower and stuck it behind my ear. I also gave Yuko a pretty yellow flower that was looked like a poppy but smelled like bananas. She liked it very much.

The first thing we saw in the jungle, besides all the gorgeous plants and the strong humidity, were purple-furred panthers. Excellent.

"Stand behind me, Legend." Basch said, acting all macho and protective for me again. He immediately stuck down a panther. Whoa…

The panthers were simple to take down, but man, did they growl like crazy! They were like roaring lions with a megaphone right near their mouths! Yep, it was very audible…

We continued walking through the jungle. We'd turn one way…but it was blocked by a wall of magick…poopie…

"The Jungle denies us our passage." Fran said to all of us.

"But what have we done?" Ashe asked her.

"We? Not we. I." Fran stuttered, but walked away ultimately, completely dropping the subject.

"So, how are we supposed to get through here?" Vaan asked. I saw Balthier and Fran walk away down a small set of stairs. I followed them, of course.

"Whatcha doing?" I asked them. Being rude as they sometimes are, they ignored me. Fran was busy drawing some sort of symbol into the air as Balthier carefully watched her fingers trace the shape. Then, suddenly, a green path appeared out of nowhere!

"Whoa, coolness!" I exclaimed, watching as tiny white flowers also appeared onto the grassy path. I knew where this path went. Eruyt village: Fran's home.

"We need the aid of the Viera who dwell ahead." Fran said to me.

"Will they be happy to see you after so long?" Penelo suddenly came up and asked Fran. However, after Penelo asked that, Fran looked solemn.

"I am unwelcome here." She said softly, but loud enough for all of us to hear. Fran sighed, then went upon the green path and started walking towards the village. I glanced at Yuko, and she returned the look of 'let's just move on'. Balthier and Basch followed Fran, then Ashe, then Vaan and Penelo, and then Yuko and me, Fini and Misa following us. We entered the village after about three minutes of walking on the magical green path. The village seemed like a place out of a fairytale (although this whole story seems like it was pulled out of a fairytale, so, I have no reason to really say that). We spotted a save crystal, replenished ourselves, and we looked at Fran.

"The viera we're searching for is Mjrn." She said to us. I nodded my head.

"Come on, Yuko, let's go." I took Yuko's tiny, pale hand and we walked. Viera were staring at us. I never really thought that bunny people would think that I was so interesting, because bunny people are far more interesting than regular human beings. I suddenly saw a rather large group of Viera whispering to each other.

"Let's ask them where Mjrn is." I said. Before I even took a half step, Fini pulled my hair to stop me from walking ahead.

"Fuu, are you sure that these Viera want to talk to you? They don't look exactly…pleasant." Fini pointed out. I lightly flicked her away from my hair, where Yuko caught her with both hands.

"Fini may be right about this," Yuko said anxiously. "They don't look too euphoric."

"We'll just get them to talk." I stated, winking at them. I tucked back my hair and walked up to the group of Viera. They all stared at me like I had fifty-six arms on my head.

"Er…howdy." I said, waving my hand awkwardly. "We're looking for a Viera named Mjrn. Has anyone seen her around here?"

No response. Just more awkward staring…

"Uh…" I began, clearing my throat. Maybe they didn't understand basic vocabulary. I cleared my throat a couple more times to think of much bigger words. "I hath to locate Mjrn. Hath any individual discern the whereabouts of this cerebral Viera?" I sounded like a damn dictionary on drugs.

And, again, there was no response. More staring, though…perfect…

"Uhh…" I felt a drip of sweat form on my forehead, which was probably a sweat from awkwardness. Maybe they didn't understand me? Maybe Viera had this special language of their own? And if that was so, how did Fran understand my language? That was a whole different story, though. I immediately began thinking of what to say now. I cleared my throat and began speaking as clear as I could to the group of discontented Viera. "Me find Mjrn. You know Mjrn?" I asked, sounding like someone talking to a foreigner.

Now they stared at me with expressions like 'This-girl-is-retarded' or 'Why-are-we-getting-treated-like-retards-ourselves?'

"You must leave at once." I heard a voice up ahead. Another bunny girl! She didn't look too happy with my presence, though. But then again, none of the Viera here did.

"How come?" I asked her.

"Humes like yourselves are NOT allowed to walk on these grounds." She glared at me. I suddenly remembered this Viera's name. Jote.

"Listen here, Jote." I stated. "We really need help. Sure, we might be Humes and crap, but, still—."

"My name." She interrupted me, her face going from rather stunned, then returned to her angry expression. "You know of it? How?"

"Fuu-chan here is Raithwall's Legend!" Yuko said to her, who looked rather annoyed for some reason. "Got a damn problem with that?" YUKO SWORE? I guess I better control my language more often. Jote blinked a few times, her face expressionless. She wasn't all too surprised by my being, and she was probably the first person to not give a crap about me being the Legend.

"This foolish youth can't be. She is too foolish for that power." Jote said, glancing at me.

That's why she didn't start bowing down like everyone else I met; she didn't believe that I was the Legend! She thought I was too stupid to be it!

"You're starting to tick me off here, lady!" I snapped. "I really AM Raithwall's told Legend! You better believe it!"

"I do not concern if you're the Legend or a pauper, leave at once, Humes." Jote said.

"Why you—" I muttered angrily. Jote was probably the most irritable person I have EVER met in my life. I was cracking my knuckles, but before I said anything else, Fran and everyone else in my group came up from behind me.

"I heard the voice of the Wood," Fran said. "It states that Mjrn is not in the village. Where is she, Jote?"

"Why do you ask that?" Jote stated. "The Wood tells us where she has gone to. Or can you not hear it?" Fran was silent. Jote walked up to Fran as we watched Fran feel awkward in this whole situation.

"You cannot, can you?" Jote continued. "Your ears are dulling from all the harsh words the Wood has spoken to you. You are no Viera for leaving the Wood. Mjrn has left their embrace as well."

"And yet you forsake them in turn?" Balthier suddenly asked.

"It is the will of our village. Viera must always live in the Wood. It is the Green Word, and our law, as well." Jote said.

"Then keep your laws," Vaan spoke up. "But just stay out of our way. We'll find Mjrn ourselves."

After Vaan said that, a rather powerful wind surrounded Jote, and she closed her eyes as she was probably speaking to the Wood. It was actually a pretty cool sight, to tell you the truth. Besides, I needed something amusing to calm me down from this irritable and petulant Viera priestess.

"Mjrn has left the Wood and she has gone west. She is somewhere where men are in cold iron armor. Thus to me the Wood has spoken." Jote said, a small hint of softness in her eyes, but not enough to get me to be nice to her from now on. She began to walk away.

"Viera may begin as a part of the Wood, but it is not the only end that we choose." Fran said to Jote, who stopped her in her tracks.

"The exact words I heard fifty years ago." Jote said as she continued walking away. I looked at everyone.

"Translation from big vocabulary?" I asked them, since they were the experts of solving puzzles and stuff.

"The Henne-Magicite Mines is what she meant." Larsa said to me. Great, that's just what I needed. More mines… "They lie south in the Ozmone Plain. Unfortunately, it's Archadia property. That means there would be soldiers."

"Is that really a problem?" Balthier asked him. "Let's go."

Leaving the village of awkwardness, we went past the save crystal…when Vaan suddenly stopped the group from moving forward any farther.

"Hey, Fran!" He shouted. Fran turned to look at him.

"Yes?" She asked him, the slight tone of impatience found in her voice.

"What Jote said, you know…about how you said the same thing fifty years ago…?" Vaan stated, a look of confusion spread on his face. Uh-oh, I began fearing the worst of where this question was going…

"Your point?" Fran wondered.

"Uh…how old did you say you were again?" Vaan finally let it out. I was correct. That question went terribly wrong. There was an awkward silence in the air as Fran looked very offended by the question, walking out of the village.

"Nice, Vaan." Balthier said sarcastically, following Fran out of the village.

"Try to grow up please." Penelo said, walking past Vaan. Ashe also walked by in silence, but was probably thinking the same things.

"Surprisingly rude." Larsa exclaimed as he also walked past Vaan. Basch followed Larsa, as it was just Vaan and I left standing there, Yuko also walking out of the village. I sighed.

"Vaan, you're an ass sometimes." I said, trying to hide my chuckles as I followed everyone out of the village. Vaan slowly followed behind me.

We were off to find Mjrn and get some more answers.

_To be continued…_


	14. Mystery Phobia

_Fuu: Sorry it has been a while folks._

_Fini: We were just lazy and couldn't have enough strength to continue chapter fourteen, right Fuu?_

_Fuu: That isn't it at all!_

_Fini: Sure. Whatever._

_Fuu: Wait, who's going to say the disclaimer thingy this time?_

_Al-Cid: ME!_

_Fuu: You haven't even appeared in the story yet! –Pushes Al-Cid away-_

_Jote: Fuu doesn't own Final Fantasy XII, including the storyline, settings, and characters: excluding herself, Fini, Yuko, and Misa._

_Fuu: Here's chapter fourteen, y'alls!_

**Going Into Ivalice**

**Chapter 14: Mystery Phobia**

Although I played Final Fantasy XII a gazillion times before, I never noticed how much work these poor party members faced and went through. I mean, they were going from one place to the next and battling fiends and foes non-stop! And now, I was truly apart of it all.

So, to find Mjrn the Viera, we had to go back to the Ozmone Plains to find the Henne Mines…wherever the heck they were.

Fran and Balthier led the pack, Basch and Ashe not too far behind…leaving Yuko, Vaan, Penelo, and me usually in the back of the pack. It was fun to be able to chat a lot with the younger people, but I was a bit jealous of the older members of the group being able to lead the way. I mean; I _was_ Raithwall's Told Legend.

"So, Fuu," Vaan went right up to my face, completely ignoring the fact that I needed personal space while walking. "I never got to ask you this, but what is your world like?" Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Balthier turn around and look at me. Balthier asked this question all the way back in the prison where we first got arrested, and I never really got to answer anything at all.

"There's a lot to tell, actually." I stated. Yuko nodded her head in agreement.

"Are there any precise niceties you would like to know?" Yuko asked Vaan.

"Well…" Vaan tapped his finger on his chin, thinking of something to ask. "Fuu, you mentioned marching band a couple of times. What is that?"

"Surely there has to be marching bands in Ivalice!" I stated in a slight tone of shock. Marching band was practically life for me (Besides playing FFXII of course!!)!

"Uhh…so what are they?" Vaan ignored my statement.

"Umm…" How should I explain? It was like trying to explain something to a three-year old. "It's this big group of people who have different instruments to play…and they all march in organized lines while playing music!"

"Whoa! What kind of instruments?" Penelo joined in the conversation.

"I play the clarinet!" I held up my hands to hold an invisible clarinet.

"Clarinet?" Vaan asked. I sighed…explaining this kind of stuff was going to take a whole lotta effort. Before I tried to think of an answer to Vaan's question, we all stopped our tracks when we spotted two Imperial soldiers lying on the ground…one bleeding badly.

"They're from the Imperial army." Penelo whispered hesitantly.

"But they look like they need some help." I said. I walked up, past the older members of the group, to the soldiers.

"Fuu, what are you doing?" Yuko asked, just as hesitant as Penelo.

"Traveler…have a Potion on you?" The non-bleeding soldier asked me. "My friend is badly wounded. I fear that…he may die. Please, just one Potion…"

I turned around to give a glance at everyone in my group, telling them that these soldiers were no baddies. None of them returned compassionate glances, however. What a bunch of scaredy cats…or they were just rude…

"Somebody toss me a flipping Potion here!" I scolded them. "This guy really needs some help!" Ashe finally took a vile of Potion from her belt and tossed it to me, where I clumsily caught it with both hands. I gently handed it to the wounded guard, who drank it hungrily. In no time, he stood up on both feet.

"Thank you so much, young Miss. We are in your debt." They both bowed down. I smiled approvingly, giving 'Haha' looks to everyone else in my group. The guards stood up.

"Wait, where did you dudes come from?" I asked them.

"The Henne Mines." One of the soldiers replied. "We were attacked, so we fled. We're still a little weak, so we're still going to rest a bit here."

"Take your time, bro." I said. "So, the Henne Mines are that way?" I glanced in the direction whence they came from.

"Yes. If you like, we could lend you a Chocobo until then. There are a lot of paths, which only Chocobos can cross. Let me know when you need one."

"Thanks!" I squealed gleefully. You see, the first Chocobos we borrowed from Jahara suddenly ran off while they were supposed to wait outside of Golmore Jungle…so getting another free Chocobo made me super happy. They were cute and fluffy, so why not love them? "Do you mind if we use one now?"

"Do as you please, Miss." The guard stated.

I spotted the Chocobo and hopped onto its back.

"To the Henne Mines, baby!" I said, pointing in one direction. The Chocobo cawed gleefully and scampered in that direction, everyone following my trail.

………..

It took about half an hour to get through all the paths on the Chocobo…but we finally made it to the entrance…

And we were greeted by the stench of dead bodies…oh, and the dead bodies themselves.

"Oh my," Misa gasped. "By the smell of it, these corpses are pretty new." I hopped off of the Chocobo (telling it sternly to stay in the same place and not go off anywhere) and headed towards the entrance of the cave. The odor was unbearable, which made me feel sorry for the people on CSI…facing corpses 24/7.

"These are Researchers from the Draklor Laboratory," Larsa gasped. "What were they doing here?"

"Research." Balthier responded.

Well, duh.

"Fuu, I'm scared." Yuko whimpered as she tugged onto my camisole.

"Don't worry, Yuko-chan. We'll be all right." I grabbed her hand and we all walked into the entrance.

……………

Like all Mines should be, it was dark and creepy and felt like walking in a zone of damp garbage. It was even creepier than the Lhusu Mines or Barheim Passage.

I used my cell phone as a light to guide the way of everyone, holding Yuko's shivering pale hand with my free hand. As always, I almost passed out every single time a fiend popped out of the ground or ceiling. I relied on the other party members to fight them off and eventually defeat them.

"Oh, shit." I muttered angrily.

"What's wrong?" Fini asked me.

"My cell phone lost a bar of energy." I responded, closing my cell phone with my teeth.

"How many bars does it have before it dies?"

"One more, which means that if I keep using it for one more hour, its battery will die."

"Fuu, I can't see!" Yuko shrieked.

"I'm sorry." I flicked on the light again. "Yuko, you seem pretty scared. We've been in other Mines, haven't we?"

"Yeah but these ones are darker than before." Yuko whimpered in fright.

"So you're afraid of the dark?" Misa questioned Yuko.

"Isn't every five-year old?" Yuko muttered. Larsa then came up and picked up Yuko, carrying her bridal style. "B-brother?"

"I'll keep you safe, sister." Larsa whispered. "Just stay tranquil. We'll be out of here before you even realize it."

"Thank you Larsa." Yuko snuggled herself in Larsa's arms and shut her eyes tightly.

We continued to walk ahead, twenty more minutes passing by…until we reached a larger room…Magicite was in this room…

"Look at the Magicite," Larsa stated, holding Yuko closer. "These Mines justly resemble Lhusu. Of course. Draklor must be searching for new sources of ore. Should the Resistance move, the Magicite in Bhujerba will be forever beyond their grasp." We continued looking around the room, spotting another dead guy.

"Get it away!" Yuko screamed loudly.

Since when did Yuko act like a typical five-year old? Ever since she entered the Mines…

"What is this Mist? Mjrn!" Fran ran ahead, sensing Mist…of course.

"Fran, wait up!" I called out after her, running beside her. She stopped her tracks. I stopped clumsily and we waited for everyone to catch up…and when everyone caught up, a figure came inside the room…

Mjrn.

She was stumbling oddly until she was only a good few feet away from our party.

"The stench of Humes. The stench of power." Mjrn said.

"What's wrong with her?" Ashe asked Fran. Mjrn stopped Fran from answering, who was pointing directly at Ashe.

"Stay away! Power-needy Hume!" Mjrn then ran away…stumbling oddly even more.

"Wait!" Ashe called out.

"Please come back, Mjrn! Just get us out of here!" Yuko cried. Larsa hugged her as she cried into his shoulder.

"Yuko, tell me what is disturbing you." Larsa softly asked. She didn't answer…only wails were heard from her.

I couldn't bear it. Yuko in this mysterious pain…a pain I never expected from her.

She just wanted to leave the place. I don't blame her, because it was dark and smelly and crap, but I really thought she could handle it like previous places we traveled to.

I was pissed off…I just felt anger rise up out of nowhere.

"Come on, everyone!" I shouted. "Quit standing around! We have to follow her!"

"But Fuu, it could be dangerous." Penelo exclaimed.

"Danger or none, we need Mjrn!" I ran ahead, Fran following right behind me, probably thinking my exact thoughts. We ran into a larger room…where Mjrn wasn't awaiting us…

Instead the nasty monster Tiamat welcomed us, ready for a fight.

"Oh, snap!" I shouted. "Fini, gimme my ninja sword!"

"I'm on it!" Fini unzipped my backpack and lifted my trusted weapon with all of her strength, handing it to me as fast as she could. Fran instantaneously got out her bow and arrow as everyone else also got out his or her weapons.

Tiamat let out a wild roar and stomped one large foot on the ground, making the ground shake violently. Unalarmed, I fell backwards and landed right on my butt. I looked up, where Tiamat was looking directly at me. It was about to attack me with its giant claw, but Larsa jumped out in front of me and sliced it with his sword. Tiamat shrieked in pain and staggered in a different direction temporarily.

"Yuko, please keep a close eye on Miss Fuu." Larsa ordered his sibling.

"Yes." Yuko nodded her head and turned to me. "Are you all right, Fuu-chan?"

"I'm fine, I'm a lot more worried about you." I stated. She blinked.

"Just for my little phobia?" She asked me; as if she had no idea what I was talking about. Before I said anything else, we saw Basch ran up to us.

"Legend, stand! I would not want you to get in harm's way!" Basch ordered.

"Sheesh, take a chill pill Basch!" I stood up gracelessly. Tiamat then spotted us and was stomping over to where I was standing. The ground was shaking violently each step Tiamat took, making running away a difficult thing to do. I tripped a couple of times but was able to get out of the way from being attacked. I turned around…but saw that Yuko was not behind me. Terrified, I looked around me…where she was lying in the middle of the battlefield.

"Fuu! Help her!" I heard Misa call from where Yuko was. I didn't hesitate as I ran over to Yuko, who was unconscious. Did Tiamat do this?

"Look out!" Fini screamed. I turned my head around to see Tiamat's claw up in the air, ready to strike at me. I flinched down and waited for the pain to come at any moment…any minute now…any second…but I soon realized that the pain wasn't going to come…someone stopped Tiamat!

I opened one eye carefully (If I were to die, the last thing I wanted to see was Tiamat's bloodthirsty eyes)…and saw Balthier standing a few feet in front of me. I was so caught up in dealing with pain that I didn't even hear gunshots!

"Are you all right?" He turned around and asked me. I nodded my head, although I didn't really feel okay. I was worried about Yuko-chan…

"Fuu, focus!" Fini shouted. I whipped my head around and saw Tiamat charging our way. The ground began shaking, and I scooped up Yuko with both hands and attempted to stand up. After a second attempt, I was on both feet and began running from Tiamat. I ran into one corner of the room, where Balthier stood in front of me and loaded his pistol.

"How is she doing?" Balthier asked me.

"She's knocked out," I replied. "Maybe Tiamat hit her or something."

"I don't see any injuries on her. That doesn't make any sense." Misa pointed out. I blinked a few times and noticed that Misa wasn't kidding around…not a single scratch was on Yuko's body.

"Then…how come she's unconscious?"

"Here he comes!" Balthier yelled. Tiamat was trudging towards us once more, as we were ready to attack. Balthier shot a few bullets into Tiamat, who squealed painfully and audibly. I wasn't too focused on winning the battle though…Yuko was scaring me in her condition.

"Wake up!" I called to her. I even felt a small tear stream down my cheek as I only saw her face: peaceful and undisturbed as she slept. I sobbed loudly as I lightly shook her. Still nothing. "COME ON AND WAKE UP ALREADY!!"

"Fuu." Fini whispered solemnly. I was crying so much that I didn't even feel the ground vibrate ferociously any longer. Balthier's gunfire was muted by my wails as well as Tiamat's constant shrieking.

Around that time, I felt this…warmth. Warmth in my heart that I couldn't really describe. It began to grow inside of me…as if I was becoming a new person. I lay Yuko gently on the ground and turned to Tiamat. I took out my ninja sword from my backpack and walked up to the creature.

"Fuu! What are you doing?" Vaan called out from the other side of the room. I walked past Balthier, who grabbed my shoulder.

"Are you risking your own life? You must stay back!" He exclaimed. I turned to him…where he gave me a strange stare…it was a combination of awe and fear. I lightly pushed his hand away as I continued walking up to Tiamat. It spotted me, glinting its creepy-looking eyes at me. It roared then lifted its large claw into the air…where I ran up and stabbed its leg countless times. It roared in pain…but I didn't stop the attacking. I kept going on until my arms were extremely sore.

Tiamat couldn't bear the pain, so he used his claw to push me aside and into a wall, where I hit my head against the cold stone. The power drained from me…I felt normal again. I heard one more shot of gunfire before I blacked out…

………………………………

"She wakes." Fran said.

I opened my eyes to see Fran, Ashe, and Vaan looking over me. We were out of the Mines and back at the entrance of the Mines. The sunshine from the Ozmone Plain nearly blinded me.

"Are you all right, Legend?" Ashe asked me.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm okay." I said, getting up wearily. My head was aching like crazy, as if there were tons of loud and obnoxious sounds buzzing through my head.

"You really gave us a scare when you walked up to Tiamat like that." Vaan stated.

"Tiamat…did we win?" I asked dumbly.

"Patently." Ashe replied.

I suddenly remembered Yuko-chan.

"Where is she?" I asked tensely.

"Over there with Balthier and Mjrn." Fran pointed in a direction. I realized that I missed the whole event where the demonic creature came out of Mjrn and she turned back to normal. She wasn't psycho anymore. I stood up and jogged over to where Yuko was.

"Yuko-chan, are you—," I stopped my sentence when I noticed that Yuko was still unconscious…Mjrn was bending down and feeling her forehead as Balthier sat on a rock and glanced at me. "You're kidding me…she's still out cold?"

"It's been almost a full hour since the battle." Balthier stated.

"I sense…fear." Mjrn said. "She has a fear inside of her that cannot be contained very well."

"What…her fear of the dark?" I questioned.

"No…something that fears her doubly." Mjrn responded.

"I just want her to wake up, I'm scared." I said, the tears slowly coming back. As the first tear trickled down my face, Balthier got off of the rock and began rubbing my back. I liked the attention, so I couldn't resist beginning to weep in his chest.

"F…Fuu-chan?" A weak voice was heard. I stopped crying and looked down…Yuko woke up.

"Yuko!!" I shrieked excitedly, giving her the biggest hug in the history of big hugs.

"Thank goodness you're up, Yuko! We were scared to death!" Misa exclaimed breathlessly. She was as worried as I was.

"I…fainted?" She wondered.

"Uh, duh!" I said. "For about an hour!"

"Well…I think I know why…" Yuko sighed. "I regained a memory…"

"You mean…" Fini stated. "You mean a memory from your Ivalice self?"

"Correct." Yuko nodded her head slowly.

I looked over at Balthier, who was the only other person who knew Yuko's secret. He nodded his head.

"Can't you trust me enough?" He asked me, grinning my favorite grin.

"Of course I can." I grinned back. I turned back to Yuko's attention. "So, what was this one about?"

"Well…" Yuko began…

…

_It was another beautiful, sunny day. Yuko was walking throughout her house, running through the hallways. She giggled cheerfully as she enjoyed the freedom of running around._

"_Larsa! Larsa! Larsa! I want to show you something!!" Yuko chanted happily. As she was running past one room, she heard her father's voice…and Vayne's. She stopped running and leaned against the door, listening to their words._

"_Vayne, you haven't been acting like yourself." Her father said. "Is something troubling you at all?"_

"_What a daft inquiry to ask me," Vayne responded. "Maybe the question should be to you, dearest father. Is something troubling __you__?"_

"_My son…you are acting rather chary…don't cause any redundant misconduct."_

"_Father." Vayne growled sternly. "Leave me be."_

_Yuko heard Vayne's footsteps exit her father's throne room, and she ran down the hallway to the end of it as she saw Vayne exit and leave the opposite direction._

"_Vayne…is being chary?" Yuko asked herself._

………………………

"The Mines reminded me so much of that eerie feeling I got that day…that suspicion I had towards him…" Yuko said.

"I still don't fully understand." Fini sighed.

"Neither do I, but we'll get to the resolution soon, Fini." Yuko agreed.

"I dislike interrupting," Mjrn said. "But we must return to Eruyt with haste."

"Mjrn is right." I said. "We need to go back to Eruyt, and soon we'll be back on track to go to Mt. Bur-Omisace."

"Yuko!" Larsa suddenly called over. Yuko smiled and ran up to her brother.

"Larsa! Did I distress you too much?" Yuko hugged her older brother.

"Only a little." Larsa chuckled. "I'm just pleased to see you well."

I smiled at how Yuko and Larsa were so happy around each other…they loved each other very much, as normal brothers and sisters should.

_**To be continued in chapter fifteen…**_


	15. Baby Got Back!

_Balthier: Hm? Where did the young lady go?_

_Yuko: Don't look at me! I don't know where she went._

_Balthier: Well…who is going to declare the bizarre sayings?_

_Fuu: I'M HERE!!_

_Yuko: Fuu-chan, where were you?_

_Fuu: I was running laps!_

_Yuko: For…what?_

_Fuu: Marching band is in two months, and I am already pumped up!!_

_Balthier: Say, isn't your ninth grade year almost over as well?_

_Fuu: Yeah, in less than a month, we'll be free from the hellish ways of education! That means MORE FINAL FANTASY XII PLAYING!! YAYNESS!_

_Mjrn: Ahem. Fuu does not own Final Fantasy XII, including its plots, settings, and characters. Nevertheless, she owns herself, Yuko, Fini, and Misa._

_Fuu: Enjoy chapter fifteen!_

**Going Into Ivalice**

**Chapter 15: Baby Got Back**

After traveling through the Ozmone Plains and once more trudging through the hell-ness of Golmore Jungle, we arrived back at Eruyt Village…Mjrn now back home. As we walked past an enormous crowd of staring Viera, we reached Jote again. She gave me a slightly irritated look, as if she now believed that I was Raithwall's Told Legend.

"I heard the Wood's whispers," Jote said as she walked up to me, handing me a small charm. "Take it."

I looked in my hand to see a glowing greenish-blue stone. It was quite pretty.

"That is Lente's Tear," Jote explained. "It is a permission to pass through the barriers blocking passages in the Jungle. Pass through the Wood and leave. To other places go."

"Great!" I said. "Let's go, guys! We need to go to Mt. Bur-Omisace faster than two shakes and a Persian kitten's whiskers!" (Okay, I know that line sounded pretty gay…it was from a Saturday Night Live skit!)

I turned my body around and was marching happily past the group…

"That cannot be all!" Mjrn suddenly shouted. I stopped my tracks. "I saw that Ivalice is changing! How can the Viera just stand around and do nothing at all?"

"Ivalice is for Humes. The Wood is for us." Jote replied.

"But that is wrong!" Mjrn cried. "How can we just hide here when all the world outside is on the move? I, like Fran, wish to leave this Wood!"

There was a small pause as we all stared at Mjrn. Fran broke that silence.

"Do not do this." She said calmly. Mjrn turned towards Fran. "You must remain away from the Humes, meaning that you must stay here. Live together with the Wood. This is your way of life."

"But, sister!" Mjrn stammered.

"I am no longer of you."

There was another silence. We all exchanged looks as Fran kept her eyes upon Mjrn.

"I have discarded the Wood and village. I have won my freedom. Yet my past had been cut away forever. No longer can my ears hear the Green Word. This solitude…is it what you truly want, Mjrn?"

"Sister—," Mjrn somberly whispered. Fran shook her head.

"No. Only one sister remains to you now." Fran looked at Jote. "You must forget my existence."

Mjrn looked devastated…she glanced around, shaking her head, before she ran off.

I felt sorry for Mjrn…her own sister saying to her face "Forget that I am alive"…it must be a horrible thing for Mjrn to endure.

"I am sorry to make you do this." Jote stated. Fran shook her head lightly.

"I have a request: listen to the Wood's voice for me. I fear She hates." Fran sighed.

Jote nodded her head lightly, closing her eyes and lifting her head up…winds lightly surrounding her. She inhaled the wind a bit and opened her eyes slowly, facing Fran.

"The Wood longs for you. For the child from under Her boughs." Jote finally said the response. Fran chuckled.

"A pleasant lie that was."

Fran turned around as we were NOW going to continue our merry way out of Eruyt…

"Be cautious," Jote said. I groaned loudly as I sulked. Couldn't we just leave the place now? "The Wood is jealous of the Humes who have taken you."

"I am as them now. Am I not?" Fran exclaimed. She gave Jote one last glance. "Good-bye sister."

We were NOW, fo sho, most definitely leaving the place now…

We went up to the save crystal and replenished ourselves before we left the village. Fran said her final farewells before we got out of there for good. As we were now back in Golmore, I went up to Fran.

"You okay?" I asked her. She looked at me with a small look of surprise. It was rather rare to start up a conversation with her.

"No need to worry. I am all right." Fran replied.

"You know…I have a sister, too. Except she's back at home…with my mom and dad and kitty cat." I stated. I looked down at my shoes. I never realized until now…what were my parents and family thinking now? Did they begin to worry about my absence too much? Did they think a kidnapper took me away to some faraway destination?

"You never mentioned a sister of yours before." Fran said…wait a moment…WAS FRAN ACTUALLY CONTINUING A CONVERSATION? I could've sworn I heard the faint tune of the Hallelujah chorus ringing through my brain when I noticed this true fact.

"Yeah. She's a couple years older than me." I said. "Her name's Hikaru."

"Do you…get along?"

"Yup."

Fran began to chuckle. "I guess even people from different worlds have the same relationships they have towards siblings."

"Hmm…I guess they do." I stated.

It felt fantastic to now officially be friends with Fran.

We went through the first barrier that was blocking our way before, with the help of Lente's Tear. We were walking through the new paths of the Jungle, where I took out my cell phone to check the time.

4:39 PM

"Shoot," I muttered. "This thing is gonna die any minute now."

"Hey." Fini said to me. "Try to cast 'Raise' on it. The battery may be fully charged again."

"Pfft!" I began to laugh. "That's the stupidest thing since the creation of stupidest things!"

"Just give it a shot!" Fini growled.

"Okay, okay, Miss Pissy!" I raised my hand up in the air and began casting the White Magick spell, Raise. Now, for those of you who don't know too well, Raise is intended to bring your party members back to life if they die in battles…I am 99 percent certain that the Magick had nothing to do with charging cell phones or other electronic devices. As the Magick came down upon my phone, I immediately saw the bars fill up the tiny battery space!! Fini wasn't kidding around!!!

"OH MY ICE CREAM CAKE!! IT WORKS! IT REALLY WORKS!!" I suddenly shouted. When you were so shocked and stunned for Magicks working to revive your cell phone, you would shout the craziest things, too. Don't judge me.

"Told you so." Fini gave me a grin. Before I thanked Fini, I noticed that everyone was staring at me like I had lollipops stuck to my hair. Before I would give them an excuse to my random outburst, a sudden shaking startled us all. As we looked ahead, we noticed what-we-suspected-to-be-some-sort-of-log-or-rock-thing-covered-in-assorted-plants-and-flowers came to life…to be the Elder Wyrm! CRUD!

"WHAT DO YOU WANT WITH OUR LIVES?" I loudly asked the Elder Wyrm. Yes, for some strange reason, I was very hyper as this battle began.

"Fuu, don't act like such an idiot, please!" Fini scolded me. I nodded my head as I was getting my ninja sword out from my backpack…until we were all interrupted by a tune…the tune of "Baby Got Back".

"What's…that music?" Ashe asked. I glanced around, first thinking to myself 'HEY! Coolness! I didn't know that song existed in Ivalice, too!'…Until I realized that it was my cell phone's ring tone. How embarrassing…everyone stared at me oddly as I got out my cell phone…even the Elder Wyrm looked utterly confused at what had just happened.

"Why is John calling me?" I looked at my phone. John was one of my best guy friends at school…and his timing of calling me was not a very good one. As stupid as I was, though, I answered. "Hello?"

"_Fuu! You answered! Where the hell are you?"_

"John, this isn't the best time!" I said as the Elder Wyrm let out a vicious roar.

"_Okay, what was that?" _John asked, startled by the roars of the Elder Wyrm.

"Um…I'm watching Jurassic Park!" I lied as the Elder Wyrm charged towards Vaan, who screamed like a little girl (Again, why is it always Vaan that gets beat up?).

"_I honestly don't remember the roar being like that in the movie…"  
_

"Nevermind that! Can you just call me back later and I'll explain everything! I swear!" I said as I backed away from the Elder Wyrm, who spotted me.

"_No, no, no! I need to know where you are __now__! There's news spreading around everywhere about you being missing!"_

My whole body froze up.

"Oh my God." I whispered. "I really _am _gone."

"_What? What? Fuu, I can't hear you!"_

I didn't even have the time to respond…I turned off my phone and stuffed it in my backpack.

"Fuu-chan?" Yuko looked at me with question. I stood there, slowly collapsing to my knees.

"My…my family and friends…they think I'm missing…" I muttered in horror. Yuko gave me a long stare with a combination of 'Come on we have to fight this frickin thing' and 'Are you serious?' Vaan running into us then interrupted us.

"Fuu! Get up!" Vaan shouted at me. I was too shocked to even think about what was currently happening in my surroundings. I was lost.

"Fuu-chan!" Yuko kept calling out to me, lightly shaking me. Vaan then thought it would be a perfect solution for him to slap me across the face…and as I finally came back to my senses, I immediately slapped him back.

"Sorry," I apologized to Vaan, who was rubbing his cheek in pain. "I got carried away there."

"We should seriously quit standing around!" Misa scolded us. I nodded my head in accord and prepared my ninja sword. Yuko also took out Soapy and put another pad on it. As it got all deadly with its many lethal bubbles, we all charged towards the Elder Wyrm. It spotted us out of the corner of its eye and immediately cast a spell on us. I felt this weakness go upon me every once in a while, pain would appear and I would get even weaker.

"Fini, what's happened?" I asked my trusty game guardian, who has hovering right above my left shoulder.

"It seems like the Elder Wyrm has cast poison on you, Vaan, and Yuko!" Fini replied.

"Poison, huh? That means we need an antidote to cure that." I said, rummaging through my backpack to find a few antidotes to heal us. As I found three, I healed everyone…but the Elder Wyrm casted another spell…

"He just casted poison on you again." Fini sighed.

"GOD DAMMIT!" I growled in annoyance. I was about to grab a few more antidotes until the Elder Wyrm stomped on the ground, completely catching me off balance. I landed on my back…noticing that the Elder Wyrm was now casting some sort of spell on me to drag me over to the creature…where he would obliterate me…perfect. Besides the fact that my back was probably completely drenched in dirt and grass, I was doing my best to struggle out of the spell, but it was no use. No matter how much I turned to the side to get out of it, it only made it worse. I was now feet closer to the Elder Wyrm, and as I was about to kiss the world goodbye, four or five arrows shot into the Elder Wyrm, effusively halting the spell. Fran saved my life.

"Thanks, Fran. You're quite good at saving people's butts, you know." I sighed in relief as I stood up. The Elder Wyrm recovered from his injuries from Fran's perfect aim and charged towards us again. We ran out of the way right on time as the creature ran into a wall…hahaha…stupid him.

"Fuu-chan, are you all right?" Yuko ran over to me. I nodded my head.

"Just feel like my back was dunked in a garbage dump, that's all." I stated, the feeling of the damp dirt smeared across my back from all that dragging giving me a horrible chill down my spine.

"You _do_ look like an atrocious mess." Fini said.

"Thanks Fini. You're too kind." I sarcastically mumbled to my game guardian.

"He comes." Fran pointed to the Elder Wyrm, again recovering from his epic fails. Once more, the Elder Wyrm attempted to charge at us, but we moved out of the way, where he ran into someone else…who was now pinned against the wall, the massive weight of the Elder Wyrm probably crushing the person…

"Penelo!" Vaan shouted. I glanced closer at the figure that was pinned…and it was Penelo indeed!

"Oh, no! We have to help her!" I shrieked, hastily running towards where Penelo was. Her arm and face were the only things I saw. She opened her eyes and saw me.

"F-Fuu…h-help me…" She said feebly. I grabbed her arm and tried to pull her out, but it was no use.

"Someone help!!" I screamed. The Elder Wyrm spotted me and immediately ran over to me, letting Penelo free from her painful prison. She collapsed onto the ground in no time. The Elder Wyrm was now walking slowly up to me, ready to strike. I was walking backwards slowly, not noticing a jagged stone directly behind my heel…and it was that rock's fault that I fell backwards and onto the ground. I put up my ninja sword for my defense as the Elder Wyrm struck…sparks flying off of my weapon.

"Hang on, Fuu!" Misa was flying towards me. She went into my backpack (which was lying on the battlefield nearby) and was rummaging through. "Do you have an fire motes?"

"I don't know!" I shouted back.

"We need to cast fire magicks to take him down." Misa said.

"All right!" I stood up and began thinking about a large fire. As I opened my eyes, the fire came upon the Elder Wyrm, burning him good. "BURN BABY BURN! DA WYRM IS ON FIRE! BURN BABY BURN!" I began singing.

The Elder Wyrm collapsed onto the ground…then it faded back to a log. We won the battle!

But we all ran towards Penelo, as I was very worried about her injuries.

"Penelo!" Vaan called out to her, lightly shaking her shoulders. After a brief moment, she finally opened her eyes.

"Thank God." I sighed in relief.

"I don't think anything's broken," Penelo stood up, wiping dirt off of her jumpsuit. "I just feel a little sore, that's all."

"Let's be thankful," Larsa said. "Now, shall we continue to Mt. Bur-Omisace?"

"A little hasty there." I stated. He turned to me.

"Haste is quite important."

"But…she was nearly crushed by a ginormous stone…log…moss-covered…thingy." I said in some state of shock.

"I'm seriously all right, Fuu. Don't overreact on it." Penelo said to me.

"All right," I exhaled. "But don't come crying to me if you suddenly fall over in the middle of whatever the heck we're doing." I said as I walked away to the path leading out of the jungle…but I turned around, because I took the wrong path. This time, I was going through the right path as everyone else followed me.

………………………

We were almost out of Golmore Jungle…and I knew that because the temperature was decreasing. The humidity was fading as a cold breeze blew right through me. And a short while after the concise breeze, I saw snowflakes gently falling.

"Look, Larsa! There's snow up ahead!" Yuko pointed forwards, her other hand holding onto her older brother's.

"Yes. We never experienced much snow back then, correct?"

"Right! I mean, I see snow all the time in my world now, but, it seems to be a lot prettier in Ivalice!" Yuko ran up past me, letting the snowflakes fall on her. She spun around in many circles until she fell over into a huge pile of snow. I had to chuckle because of how adorable she was acting right now. So, what did I do? I joined in! With all my energy, I dashed into the pile of snow, which was freezing cold, but I didn't give a crap.

As we were ready to have a miniature snowball fight, though, I suddenly remembered what happened early in the battle with the Elder Wyrm…the news I had received from someone back at home…

_**There's news spreading around everywhere about you being missing.**_

Missing? Just that single word made me feel horrid.

"Fuu-chan?" Yuko asked me worriedly.

"I'm fine…" I said softly. "I was just thinking, that's all…"

"Okay." Yuko got up from the pile of snow and returned to her older sibling, clutching onto his hand once more. My butt was beginning to turn into a block of ice, so I decided to get out of the snow, too. Fini flew over to me.

"Fuu…something is troubling you."

"I just told you it was nothing." I hissed.

"People back on Earth are wondering where you are…and you think that they think that you were abducted." Fini stated sternly. I froze up a bit, but nodded my head sadly.

"I just want to tell them 'I'm here in Ivalice! Over half of you probably don't know what this, but I'm here! Don't worry! I'll be back in a little while!' but I don't think that's possible!"

"It isn't."

"Well, obviously."

"But," Fini said. "I _can_ do something for you."

"What?"

"I can show you what people back on Earth are currently doing right at this moment."

"Really? You can do that?" I asked excitedly.

"Yes. Just close your eyes and I'll do the work." Fini told me. I nodded my head and did as I was told. I felt a small gust of wind go by me…warmer than the cold temperatures we were heading in before… "Open your eyes now."

I opened them slowly…to see my mother and father in my kitchen.

"Mom! Dad!" I called out.

"They can't hear you." Fini said.

"How come?" I asked.

"Because you're not technically there. You're pretty much just a ghost." She replied. I glanced at her, then back at my parents.

"_I'm scared_." My mom said; a tear trickled down her cheek.

"_We all are_." My dad comforted my mother. I couldn't help but walk up to them and try to hug them…but the scene changed…to in front of my high school. Although it was before my freshman year of high school would begin, there were all sorts of people in my school holding up signs. They mostly said things like: **FIND FUU **with some other catchy slogans and crap. I saw my best friend, Madi, looking pale, crying.

"_Oh my God, where is she? I've never felt so lonely before! My life will never be the same without my best friend!!" _Madi sobbed.

"_Please…call me back…"_ John whispered. "_We must know where you are. If we don't, we might not ever even see you again."_

"I'm here!! I'm right here!!!!" I called out.

"Fuu, they can't—,"

"I know they can't hear me, but I really want them to!" I snapped. Fini bit her lip…the scene changing once more. This time…I saw a big white room filled with people. A large picture of me was shown, bouquets surrounding it.

"_Continue the searches_," A constable said. "_We won't give up on a life_." The group of people nodded their heads…

"My God! They are seriously being melodramatic with me being gone!" I exclaimed.

"But they miss you…the ones you love." Fini spoke up.

"I guess I'll be surrounded by a crap load of hugs and kisses when I come back, huh?" I asked. Fini didn't reply, however. "Uh…hello?"

"Uh…sure." Fini closed her eyes…where the breeze came back again. The warmth surrounding me faded away as I was now back with my party.

"C'mon. Let's keep moving." I said to everyone, heading to Mt. Bur-Omisace.

_**To be continued in chapter sixteen!!**_

_**I tried my best to make this chapter more interesting, but I think I failed XD oh well…at least this is updated again!!!**_

_**Please drop in a positive review for me!! THANKS!!!!!!!!!**_

_**-da Panda**_


	16. Jude and Rozaline

_Fuu: Nine more days of school left! Tomorrow I get my yearbook, too!_

_Yuko: Good for you!_

_Basch: School?_

_Fuu: Basch, just thank God that you didn't have it._

_Basch: Anyway, Fuu doesn't own Final Fantasy XII, and that includes the characters, plots, and settings of the game. But she does own herself, Yuko, Fini, and Misa._

_Fuu: Oh, yeah! Some new OC's appear in this chapter!_

_Basch: -muttering to himself- like we need more of those…_

_Yuko: Enjoy chapter sixteen everyone!_

**Going Into Ivalice**

**Chapter 16: Jude and Rozaline**

We trudged through the snow, everyone staring down at Vaan and me angrily.

"Was common sense absent? Just collapsing onto a fiend like that!" Ashe scolded us. Thanks to our fooling around, we fell on top of a bunch of monsters, where it took quite a while before they were all destroyed. We were always the ones who got into trouble…

"I'm sorry, but these sneakers are kind of old! I knew I should've bought the other pair! Nike is always better!" I stated. Of course, no one, minus Yuko and the game guardians, knew what I was talking about.

"Listen, you two," Ashe continued. "This venture is getting more treacherous by the moments, so you better wise up."

"Yes ma'am." We both sighed. Ashe gave us a long, strict stare; the kind mothers give you when they're all pissed off. After a few everlasting seconds, she turned away, trudging through the snow. I sighed.

"Bitch." I mumbled. Ashe turned around.

"What was that?" She asked me, murder burning in her eyes.

"Uhh…I said I think I have a glitch." I lied. Hey, it was to save my life from getting maimed by a feisty princess. She gave me another stare and turned around again.

"That was too close, Fuu." Fini hissed.

"I know. That's why lying can be handy sometimes." I said.

We were nearing Mt. Bur-Omisace, and let me tell you, that zip-up hoodie looked like a hoodie, smelled like a hoodie, tasted like a hoodie (okay, so we don't taste hoodies, but I think you're understanding the gist)…but it sure didn't feel like one. It felt more like a long-sleeved shirt you wore on those 50-degree days, but you would eventually take it off anyway. I was freezing my poor booty off. Yuko was also struggling with the cold.

"The w-w-w-w-w-w-w-w-wind is g-g-g-g-g-g-getting s-s-s-s-s-s-stronger…" Yuko chattered.

"S-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-shit." I also chattered. Larsa suddenly came up to us, where he put his arms around Yuko.

"Thanks, Larsa. That's even warmer than hot chocolate!" Yuko smiled.

"That's what she said." I chuckled. Misa laughed, Fini gave me an 'oh brother' glance, and Yuko looked up at me with full-on confusion. "Nevermind."

We continued going through the snow. Ashe and Basch were in the front, Fran and Balthier not far behind them, Vaan and Penelo were chatting, Larsa was carrying Yuko again, and I was beside them. I was also obnoxiously singing the songs on my iPod, since I had the nerve to put it on shuffle and sing whichever song appeared. The songs I went through so far were "Slow Ride" by Foghat, "Saw Red" by Sublime featuring Gwen Stefani, "I Kissed a Girl" by Katy Perry, "Pirelli's Miracle Elixir" from Sweeney Todd, "Send Me On My Way" by Rusted Root (Ooh, convenient!), "Zombie" by the Cranberries, and "Fidelity" by Regina Spektor. Around that time, we were heading up a rather steep hill…until…

"WAAAAAAAAGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!" A high-pitched squeal came from the top of the hill. I immediately took my ear buds out, because the sound was louder than my iPod on full volume. I glanced around…to see that no one seemed to hear it. They just kept walking. I then looked over at Yuko, who stopped her tracks. Larsa gave her a confused stare.

"Did you hear that?" She asked him.

"Hear what?"

"That loud scream."

"Yuko, there was no screaming in the premise."

Okay, that is just creepy…

"Yuko, you're not the only one going mad. I heard it, too." I spoke up. I closed my eyes and tried to hear the noise again…and after almost a minute of just standing there looking like a freak…

"OH NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!"

"There it is again!" Yuko said.

"I heard nothing." Larsa exclaimed.

"Well you must be going mad, then." I said, kind of rudely. "C'mon, Yuko, let's find out what that is!" I lifted Yuko out of Larsa's arms and was running up the hill, passing everyone. That's when Misa and Fini popped out of my backpack, because they were trying to keep warm in there.

"You heard it, right?" I asked them.

"Of course we did. Isn't it obvious?" Said Misa.

"What's obvious?" Yuko wondered.

"There is a person from your world in the area." Fini replied.

"Another one, huh?" I said.

"Fini, is it just me, or did that squeal sound eerily like you-know-who?" Misa turned to Fini.

"I was actually thinking the same…I'm just praying that it isn't her…"

"Who are you talking about?" I asked.

"Nevermind. Let's just check it out." Misa responded.

We made it to the top of the hill, where we saw three white, angry coyotes growling at something leaning on a large rock…a tiny red figure the height of a cell phone.

"LEAVE US ALONE YOU FREAKING JERKS!" The tiny figure growled ferociously. The coyotes would only be amused with a tiny figure yelling over and over, and they ignored her shouts completely. They were about to strike her, but Yuko put the deadliness of Soapy right in one's eyes. I stuck another with my ninja sword as Misa and Fini began distracting the third. As the dead coyotes began to fade away, I noticed that there was another figure laying in the snow…a regular-sized figure. Yuko finished off the last coyote with Soapy, and right after it faded away, I felt a tiny punch in the back of my head.

"Ouch!"

"I was gonna finish them off myself!" The squeaky voice that was squealing before yelled. I turned around and saw the figure…another game guardian.

She had short, cheek-length blonde hair, copper eyes, a strapless red top, a black, flowing mini-skirt, black flats, and various gold jewelry like necklaces and bracelets and rings. She also, like all game guardians, had bat-like wings and two antennae popping out of her head.

"I knew it." Fini and Misa exhaled in unison. The blonde game guardian glanced over at them.

"Fini from game 26, 403 and Misa from game 4,879? What the heck are you freaks doing here?" The game guardian asked in both shock and annoyance.

"Same question towards you." Fini muttered.

"Wait." I broke up the rising tension. "Who the heck is this?" I pointed to the blonde game guardian.

"Rozaline of game 239,722." Misa answered.

"An ignominy to meet you." Rozaline said. Wow, I already knew why this certain game guardian was detested by Misa and Fini…she was a brat. "Anyway, answer my question."

"Who is that?" Yuko asked, pointing to the figure lying on the ground. Rozaline turned around and saw the figure.

"Ohmigosh! I totally forgot!" Rozaline flew over to the figure and began to shake its head. "Wakey-wakey, Jude!"

"Jude?" Yuko asked.

"He's my human! Duh!"

"So, he's the player of game 239,722?" I questioned.

"No dip!" Rozaline snapped. "C'mon! The baddies are all gone! Get your butt off of the ground, Jude!" After a minute or two, the figure finally stood up. He glanced around a bit until he spotted me.

"All right. Who are you?" He asked me. However, instead of answering his question, I began staring at his looks. He had dark brown, almost black, curly hair, blue eyes, black T-shirt, blue jeans, black sneakers, and an amazing body. He was like a softer version of Tom Welling.

"Hey! Answer me! Are you deaf?" He asked brusquely, snapping me out of la-la land.

"Excuse me? How dare you talk to me like that?" I snapped.

"Why the hell are you acting like royalty with that frickin tone?" He asked.

"Because maybe I'm the frickin Legend of the Dynast-King Raithwall!" I shouted, standing in a great posture. Jude didn't seem to give a crap, but Rozaline totally transformed her attitude in a flash.

"Ohmigosh!" She bowed down. "She really _does _exist!"

Heheh…that's more like it…

Jude gave her an evil glance, where she stood up.

"I mean," She shook her head. "Prove it! We don't believe you!"

"What's all the fuss?" A voice asked behind us…it was Balthier. He then spotted Jude.

"Balthier," Yuko walked up to my loving sky pirate. "This is Jude and—…" she stopped herself from introducing Rozaline, almost forgetting that people originally from Ivalice can't see game guardians.

"We found him up here." I continued.

"Let me take a guess," Balthier began. "He's from your world."

"If that's what you can call it." Jude mumbled.

"Welcome aboard." Balthier said. I did a double take and a loud "PFFFT!"

"Say what?" I asked.

"I like his style. He's coming with us."

Was Balthier serious? There was no way in hell that I was going to befriend two new people with the worst personalities imaginable! I was just done with one back in Eruyt Village, and I already had enough! Adding two more…I couldn't stand it!

"Great. Time to spend my precious time with a bunch of whiny little freaks." Rozaline exhaled. Fini and Misa gave each other a look and muttered various cuss words. Everyone else in the party caught up, met Jude (who was acting a lot nicer to them than to me) and we were continuing on our merry way. Jude then came up to me.

"Hey."

"What?" I asked temperamentally.

"Sorry…about before."

Was he apologizing for his bad attitude? I didn't know if it was some kind of joke or not, but I felt much better.

"It's all right. I've faced worse."

Jude gave me a smile, which I had to admit, it was kind of hot. (But certainly not as hot as Balthier's sexy smile!)

"You know," He said. "You're kind of cute."

I blushed at this. This guy must be flipping bipolar, because now he was the nicest person in the universe.

Around that time, as we were heading up another steep-ish hill, I began to feel awfully weak. I didn't know if it was from the constant walking and trudging through the snow…but I felt aching all around me. And…then…

"FUU!!" I heard Yuko's voice shout…but it felt like it was yards away. And I then felt myself falling backwards before I blacked out…

_To be continued in chapter seventeen…!!!!!!!!!_

_**Hey! It's me!**_

_**Yes, I added new characters! Love 'em or hate 'em, they just came to me one day, so I added them to this tale! I'm going to have fun with Rozaline…hehehe…!**_

_**Please continue reading! Bye!!**_

_**-da Panda**_


	17. Carry Me to Safety

_Fuu: Hey everyone! Long time no speak-y!_

_Rozaline: You dumbass! It's about time you got on! You're nothing more than a lazy piece of—_

_Jude: Rozaline…please…_

_Rozaline: I mean…whatever, as long as you're back now._

_Yuko: No wonder you hate her, Misa…_

_Misa: -sigh-_

_Jude: I'll say the disclaimer this time. Fuu doesn't own Final Fantasy XII. This includes plots, characters, and settings. However, she owns herself, Fini, Misa, Yuko, Rozaline, and me. _

_Misa: It's so weird to have that disclaimer extended with the two new peoples!_

_Rozaline: You better get used to it, dumbbell! _

_Jude: -cracks knuckles-_

_Rozaline: Um…I mean…enjoy chapter seventeen everyone…eheh…_

**Going into Ivalice**

**Chapter Seventeen: Carry me to Safety**

The very first thing I saw when I opened my eyes were Yuko, tears welling up in her eyes. Fini was floating in front of her, peering down at me with a look of worry and relief.

"Fuu! You're awake!" Fini yelped, her voice with the tone of respite.

"Um…yeah?" I got up, rubbing the back of my head. My hair felt cold and wet… "Was I…laying in the snow?"

"Well, it's not like we have a 'fainting-person-survival-kit' with us to put you on some sort of bed or anything." Fini stated. Wait…fainting?

"What do you mean by fainting?" I asked.

"You were out for about half an hour!" Yuko exclaimed.

Holy crap.

Half an hour? And when the heck did I pass out? Then I began to remember what happened when I climbed up that hill. I felt a sudden weakness overcoming me. And I was pretty sure that THAT was when I passed out.

"So," I sat up a bit more, so my butt wasn't getting soaked from the snow. "I fainted, I was out cold for half an hour…SO YOU _LUNATICS_ DECIDED TO JUST LAY ME DOWN IN THE _FREEZING COLD SNOW_ AND JUST _WAIT_ UNTIL I _WOKE UP_?" My sudden outburst was so audible that Yuko fell backwards and Fini flew off all the way to where Basch was standing (which was actually a bit far from my location.)

"Fuu-chan, we really _did_ want to carry you to Mt. Bur-Omisace, but Misa said that there were monsters up ahead…and if we brought you along in your state, we would've been in a pickle." Yuko said, regaining her balance.

"Still…I could _at least_ be in someone's arms." I grumbled.

"You mean Balthier's arms."

The voice was so startling that I jumped up and squeaked like a frightened little mouse. I spun my head around to see Jude. Almost forgot about that guy…

"You…YOU!" I fully processed what Jude had said, and I jumped up on my two legs and pointed an unpardonable finger at him. "How did you know that?"

"The way you kept staring at his ass when we were climbing up the mountain earlier. Duh." Jude said with no emotion in his voice or face. I swear, if that guy got every wish he wanted to come true, he _still_ wouldn't give a smile or be happy.

"How dare you notice such vulgar things? Don't forget that _I_ am Raithwall's Legend, and you treat me with respect-a-mundo!" Okay, I may sound like a bragging spoiled bitch when I said that, but when you're with people like Jude and his game guardian Rozaline, you have so much untangling to do that you just get more tangled up (if that made any sense at all to you.)

"First off," He scowled. "_You_ were the one doing the vulgar act. And secondly, I have no idea what this damn Legend thing is about, but I'm pretty sure this so-called Legend wouldn't use the word 'respect-a-mundo'. That person would just be an idiot."

"I'm no idiot! I'm a flipping smart girl! You just wait until you know all about Raithwall's Legend, Jude! Because once you do, you'll begin to treat me with a little more approbation, like the rest of freaking Ivalice does! Because the good ol' folks of Ivalice know exactly what to do when it comes to respecting a high-classed being!" I screamed.

Don't I get scary when mad?

I was yelling so jarringly that everyone stared at me. I was breathing heavy, looking straight into Jude's hellish eyes, and still pointing an angry finger at him.

"How dare you yell at Jude like that? You're nothing but a cruel little—!" Rozaline jumped in from nowhere and began yelling at me.

"Shut up, Rozaline. She's too stupid to realize that she's in her own fantasy world." Jude gave me one last vicious glare before treading up the mountain.

"Right when I was about to get nice with him…" I muttered.

"Fuu-chan." Yuko walked up cautiously, afraid that I might begin yelling again.

"You know what? Forget about it." I sighed. "He's too stupid to understand anything about Ivalice and Raithwall."

"Is the Young Lady finally calm? After her collapsing incident, she should be feeble and muted. But she only seems to shout." Balthier was walking over towards me. I wanted to run up and tell him why bringing along Jude was the worst idea in the history of worst idea's…but I was trying to let it go.

"Do you always talk like a narrator?" I questioned jokingly. He gave me a small smirk, and what he did next was a bit shocking. He grabbed me and picked me up bridal style! "Hey, what are you doing?" I asked in shock, my face beginning to blush. (And not from anger, either.)

"To prevent you from fainting on us again, I should carry you to Mt. Bur-Omisace instead. It's an act of largesse." He said to me. At first, I didn't want Balthier to help me with such a thing…but you have to give in when it comes to someone as dashing and sexy like Balthier. You can't help but give up and let him carry you. Besides, how could you not resist the warmth of his chest?

"Thank you, Balthier." I mumbled, but said it loud enough for him to hear. He looked down and gave me my favorite crooked smile. I took that as a 'Your welcome'.

"Now that she is all right," Ashe walked over. "We shall continue."

"Right. Moving on." Balthier said as he began to walk to where Jude was headed.

We traveled for about forty-five minutes…forty-five minutes of being in the arms of the man of my dreams. So, you can imagine what kind of things I was dreaming about while leaning my head against Balthier's warm chest. But that's a very different story. I glanced over to see Yuko talking to Larsa, Misa planted on Yuko's head. Vaan and Penelo were in the back again. That's where I would've been if Balthier hadn't been carrying me. We encountered some monsters here and there, but I let the others handle it. Jude and Rozaline were a bit more defensive unlike the last time, when we first met them.

"Tell you what, boy," Basch laid a hand on Jude's shoulder. "Once we get to Mt. Bur-Omisace, we'll buy you a weapon."

"You're too kind." Jude smirked. He glanced over at me, as if he knew that I wanted to claw Basch's eyes out for saying that to him. And guess what? I did.

But I didn't want to care, because I looked up at Balthier.

I remembered our first meeting clearly, as if it happened seconds ago…which it happened about a week ago, actually. We were running on the bridge in the Royal Palace of Rabanastre. Then I introduced myself to him in the Garamsythe waterway. That was the only time he said my actual name, and not "The young lady". Then we were captured and arrested. We went through the Barheim passage, made it back to Rabanastre, flew on the Strahl to Bhujerba, went through the Lhusu Mines, got arrested again and then—

"Mt. Bur-Omisace is up ahead." Balthier said to me. I almost jumped because I was so lost in my thoughts and calculating.

"I'm sorry, what?" I asked frenetically.

"Our destination. It's in the distance. I can see it clearly." He said to me.

"Oh." I mumbled, looking at my hands. I twisted my butterfly ring on my right ring finger over and over, wanting to say something. I wanted to get closer to Balthier…but then I remembered that moment in the tent when we were heading to Jahara.

"_I just feel like you're the only person that I know that makes me feel…glad."_

This may sound crazy, but I needed more of Balthier's attention. When I realized right then and there in Balthier's arms was that this crush on a video game character was growing…it was growing into love. I began to realize how much I was falling in love with him more and more each moment we had together. I suddenly remembered our first real conversation in that crappy prison before we headed down to the Barheim passage. It was the first time we really became friends.

"Hey." I said to Balthier. He looked down at me, and after rummaging through my back pocket for a few seconds, I pulled out the pack of Forever Fruit flavored Stride gum. I took out one piece and held it up. "Want a piece?" By the look in his eyes, he suddenly remembered the first time I showed him chewing gum, and he gave me my favorite smile again.

"With gratification." He was able to hold me with one hand as he grabbed the piece, unwrapped the wrapper, and put the gum in his mouth. And I couldn't help but chuckle and smile. I loved him.

_**To be continued in chapter eighteen!**_

_**Awww, that moment was precious between Fuu and Balthier! **_

_**Please continue reading! And leave me a nice review please!!! Thanks a ton!**_

_**-da Panda**_


	18. Funky Glasses and Furious Princesses

_Fuu: OMG! Hey everyone! I am SOOOOOOOOOOO sorry for not updating sooner! But here I am with chapter 18! HOORAH!_

_Rozaline: Fuu does not own Final Fantasy XII…this goes for its characters, settings, and plots. Fuu owns Yuko-chan, Misa, Fini, Jude, herself and myself._

_Basch: …here's chapter 18._

**Going Into Ivalice**

**Chapter 18: Funky Glasses and Furious Princesses**

We finally arrived at Mt. Bur-Omisace after about two hours of climbing up hills, steeper hills, even steeper hills, and ok-ish hills. They're mountains, you have to climb up a whole lot of hills.

During the way up, Balthier carried me after my 'fainting incident' (so he called it.), and we even listened to my iPod. Some songs he didn't find very satisfying, but all in all, he was still fascinated with my 4th generation, golden-colored nano. Here's what I figured out about his music taste: he liked Linkin Park, Queen, The Beatles, Rolling Stones, and Pearl Jam. Even a little Sex Pistols. He disliked Fergie, Lady Gaga, T-Pain, and 3OH!3

I guess Balthier wasn't a big hip hop/rap/pop fan.

When we got to Mt. Bur-Omisace, he finally set me down. We just got done listening to "Poker Face" by Lady Gaga.

"Dang, I love that song." I said as he set me down.

"Disagreeable." Balthier stated. I chuckled at this as I wrapped my ear buds around my iPod and put it in my backpack, where Penelo was carrying it while Balthier carried me.

"You have some interesting items in here." Penelo said as she handed me my backpack, Fini and Misa resting in the side pockets of it.

"Such as?" I questioned.

"This." She handed me my cell phone, where she was looking through my various contacts, ring tones, and games. "And this." She continued to hand me things that she and Vaan found in my backpack. Mascara, those really soft tissues that you could use as makeshift pillows, a picture of a ShamWow (don't ask. My friends probably snuck that in there one time back when I lived in my original world), and some cleansing pads for Soapy's killing delight.

"This is the weirdest of them all." Vaan said, taking something out of his back pocket. I was expecting another picture of something random, like a humpback whale or a drunken guy in a diaper and a rainbow Afro, but what he pulled out made me flush in embarrassment.

A tampon.

I remembered that I packed some of that stuff in my bag before I departed for my venture, but I nearly forgot about those materials.

"What is it?" Penelo picked up the tampon.

"Is it a weapon of some sort? Does it cast any black magicks? White magicks?" Vaan took it from Penelo's hand and continued inspecting the object.

"That's enough of that." I flushed even more, swiping it out of Vaan's hand.

"But…what does it do?" Vaan continued to ask me.

"You are too young to know." I said, trying to walk away from them.

"I'm actually _older_ than you." Vaan said.

"Drop the subject, pa-lease!" I shouted, speeding up my pace, face as red as a tomato.

I hung out with the older people of the party, and I kept my distance from Jude and Rozaline as best I could. If Jude came over and suddenly apologized, I wasn't going to fall for it, no way. And Rozaline was just annoying, so it was best to stay away from her, too. I was standing next to Ashe and Basch (they looked a little surprised to see me walking with them, but they didn't say anything about it.)

"So, we're visiting the elder dude, isn't that right?" I questioned Basch and Ashe.

"The Gran Kiltias." Ashe corrected me, a look of slight disgust on her face. "A Legend of Raithwall should never address a being with such a high tribute as something crude."

"Sorry." I muttered. Geez, this woman just _loved_ to scold at me.

"She is young." Basch said. "She'll understand soon enough."

"Sheesh, Basch!" I said. "I may be fourteen, but I'm not _that_ young!"

"Pardon me, Legend." Basch put his hand on my shoulder. "Excuse me if you took that as an offense, which I did not want it to be." I smiled. This was the respect I wanted.

"It's all good, Basch." I winked. "And I've been wanting to say this for a long while, but just call me Fuu, kay?"

"All right, Fuu." He gave me a smile. Ashe gave us a glance and walked ahead of us through the little paths of Mt. Bur-Omisace.

There were lot of tents and little carts, but most of them were full of useless junk. Like vases and items that looked a lot like dream catchers, but they had a lot more detail. If I were allowed to use the gil in our stash, I would've bought souvenirs for all of my friends back at home, but then I thought about the many little white lies I would've told them, like where I got the crap in the first place. I couldn't just say I got them from Thailand or the Bahamas. Besides, I was currently missing in my world. If I said I went on some sort of vacation, they would be more confused then ever.

Calling this adventure a vacation by the way? Ha!

"Here." Basch said. "The Temple Grounds."

The Temple Grounds were humongous. There were many dome-shaped buildings with lots of stairs, like the stairs Rocky ran up in the movie series…except on steroids. There were lots of guys in priestly outfits, and some regular people walking around as if the place were a shopping mall.

"Holy stool," I exclaimed. "What a place!"

"But where's the one with the Gran Kiltias?" Yuko suddenly came up from behind me.

"There's so many buildings, we might end up in the wrong one by accident." Penelo stated.

"Leave it to me, y'alls!" I jumped out in front of everyone, putting a fist to my chest. "Let Raithwall's Told Legend show ya what you're looking for—!"

"This way." Ashe walked right past me as I stood in my stance. Everyone else walked past me, leaving me standing there, my fist still pasted to my chest.

"Sheesh." I sighed, following the rest of the pack.

I knew exactly where we were going as we continued further through all the stairs and buildings and stuff. After about five minutes of following Miss Moodalicious (Ashe), we finally reached the biggest dome building of the bunch. The building where the Grand Kiltias Anastasis was.

We climbed up the oh-so-many stairs, which knocked a lot of energy out of me as soon as we reached the top of the stairs, and we were now inside of a beautiful building. It reminded me of the Lincoln memorial at Washington D.C, except Abe wasn't in there and it was A LOT more spacious and fanciful.

And there, standing with wrinkled eyes tightly shut, was the Gran Kiltias himself.

We all walked closer to get a better view of him.

"Is he sleeping?" I heard Vaan ask Penelo behind me.

"Shh!" Penelo shushed.

"_No, my child_." An old man's voice echoed throughout the giant hall. Me, Vaan, Yuko, and Penelo jumped at this.

"Holy shiz!" I said.

"_I do not sleep." _The voice ringed again. _"I only dream. Reality and illusion are a duality; they are two parts of a whole. The mirror of dreams is what reflects the truth, and the truth only."_

Ashe stepped forward.

"Gran Kiltias Anastasis, my name is—,"

"_Hush." _Anastasis interrupted. "_Ashelia, daughter of Raminas, I have already dreamt your dream. Who better to carry on the Dalmascan line than she who bears the Dawn Shard? Your dream of a kingdom restored is already known to me."_

This time, Larsa stepped forward.

"Gran Kiltias," He said. "Then give us your blessing. Grant Lady Ashe her accession—,"

"I don't suppose this is something you might reconsider?" An unfamiliar voice appeared from behind us.

Turning around, I saw the suddenly familiar figure. I have seen him in the game a couple of times, and his name was a cinch to remember.

Al-Cid Margrace.

He was there, with a sick pair of sunglasses on him, two ladies beside him. What a pimp.

He was a bad boy. Fo sho.

I thought he was going to talk to Larsa or Ashe first, like in the game, but I was a bit surprised to see him look towards me. At first, I didn't know he was looking right at me through his dark sunglasses, but I had the feeling that someone was peering at me through the darkness of shades. And…well…he was the only person in the Hall of Light wearing shades at the moment. He walked over to me, adjusting his glasses to get a better look at me. Half of his eyes were shown, and his face got closer to mine.

He had a smell on him that eerily reminded me of Axe body spray.

"You have something about you." He said.

Making no sense much?

"Um…" I cocked an eyebrow, thinking of something to respond to this puzzling saying.

"What do you know about the Dynast-King, may I ask?"

"He's the king of…Dynast?" Yes. That answer was too stupid beyond words. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ashe rub her temples in annoyance and, again, slight disgust.

Suddenly, he grabbed my shoulders, spun me around a few times until I stopped.

"Whoa, what the hell?" My head spun in dizziness. "What is this, pin the tail on the donkey? This isn't a birthday party, man!" He suddenly yanked off my hoodie, where he began inspecting my back. I could tell because I felt his breath on my bare skin, giving me goosebumps and chills. Besides, it was cold outside, making me twice as icy.

"I thought so." I heard him say. He handed me back my hoodie.

"Hey, thanks for stripping me, freak-a-zoid." I said with sarcasm.

"You're welcome, Legend."

Oh…he was only inspecting my strange marking on my back. Tis all.

"Wait just a second," I suddenly shouted. "How'd you know that I was the Legend when you just walked in the room?"

"Lucky guess." Al-Cid winked.

Okay. This guy's already creeping me out, and I've only met him for about a minute.

Al-Cid handed his pair of sunglasses to one of his chick servants and walked up to Ashe and Larsa, like what he was supposed to do in the game before involuntarily peeling off my favorite hoodie.

"My little emperor-in-waiting. You called and I have come." Al-Cid said to Larsa, patting his head like a puppy dog. Larsa didn't seem very fond of the patting on his head, and he lightly shook Al-Cid away from patting any further.

"This is the man I wanted you to meet," Larsa said to Ashe. "He is a member of the noble House of Margrace, rulers of the Rozarrian Empire."

"Ha! I am but one of the many! Try as I might, I could not stop this war alone…" Al-Cid exclaimed. "Thus I came seeking Larsa's assistance."

Now, you're probably re-thinking yourself through at this moment. For example, you might be thinking:

When the hell did Larsa talk about this creepy, sunglasses-wielding guy?

He never did to me.

Remember at the village of Jahara (chapter 12) when Yuko and I stumbled upon Larsa and Yuko and Larsa reunited as brother and sister? Well, before those touching moments happened between the ever-so-darling siblings, Larsa and Ashe were speaking in private. That was probably when Larsa mentioned this whack job.

This also answers why he traveled with us to Mt. Bur-Omisace anyway.

Now, back to this!

Al-Cid then looked at Ashe. He walked over, bent down on one knee and, you guessed right, he kissed it. Penelo cringed in some awkward-ness and disgust. Good, she wasn't the only one who was finding Al-Cid somewhat of a creeper.

"I see it is true after all," Al-Cid said, in a strangely just-changed-the-course-and-mood-altogether seductive tone of voice. "Stunning is Dalmasca's desert bloom."

Just when I was about to say 'Ha, that sucks for you, Ashe!' Al-Cid stood up and turned to me.

Aw, crap. Why does this always happen?

"But the Legend," He said, going down on one knee. I flinched in the same awkward-ness Penelo had previously. "I was not expecting something so young and adolescent as this. What I thought was that something like Raithwall's Told Legend would be hunched over and…golden…if you know what I mean."

"Are you saying that you thought I was an old lady?" I asked with gritted teeth clenched together.

"Proper." Al-Cid nodded his head, ready to press his lips on my hand.

"Look here, creep-a-thon," I heard myself blurt out, moving my hands to my hips. "I've been in Ivalice for a little over a week now, and I lost count for how many guys came up to me and kissed my hand." I wanted to cough and put Basch's name in between the coughing, but I left that out. It was for the sake of Basch's reputation after my little statement with Monsieur creep-fest. "Do you honestly, honestly, _honestly _think that I need another one to make me go bananas?" I didn't have time to think of any other synonym for the word honestly. I was _that_ frustrated.

Al-Cid looked at me for a very long time.

"Do you think that one more honorable kiss to your royal hand will make you go mad?"

"Do you think a haircut and some waxing will make your appearance less creepy?"

I wanted to hear an "OOOHHHHHH, SNAP!!" in the background…but this was Ivalice…people act too serious to do that.

"Fuu." Yuko stepped forward. "That's enough."

Since when do five-year olds tell you what to do? Yuko was an exception.

"Whatever." I sighed. Al-Cid glanced over at Yuko, and Yuko stared up at Al-Cid. One glance turned into a full-out staring contest. He moved closer up to Yuko, who stood perfectly still like a statue in a park on a lovely spring day. He bent down, and Yuko hesitantly stepped backwards.

"You look familiar." He softly said to Yuko. She said nothing and looked immeasurably uncomfortable.

"There must be a mistake, sir," She mumbled to him. "I have never seen you before in my life." Al-Cid squinted his eyes as he continued to stare at Yuko-chan, who looked twice as uncomfortable as before.

"Hey." Jude walked up. "Are you going to have a talk with this guy or not? Stop getting distracted." Al-Cid glanced at Jude, once more at Yuko, and then walked over to the Gran Kiltias. For once, I was proud of Jude, which I know is going to be rare for the rest of this journey.

"Anyway…" Al-Cid sighed.

"_In Archadia, Larsa. In Rozarria, Al-Cid. They dream not of war. Should empire join with empire, they way will open for a new Ivalice in our time_." Anastasis spoke.

"Hah, Gran Kiltias! You speak much of dreams. But in the real world, war is upon us." Al-Cid exclaimed. Ashe suddenly stepped forward.

"Gran Kiltias, I was told my coming here would prevent this war. I was to assume my father's throne and announce the restoration of Dalmasca…treat with the Empire for peace, and persuade the Resistance to stay their hand. I have not come all this way to be asked to reconsider!" She said.

"A word from you and the Resistance would stop cold…and Rozarria's pretext for joining the war…scattered, off to the four winds. This was what we had hoped. Alas, circumstances change. A full two years have passed since your reported death. Were it to become known you were still alive…I fear it could only worsen our current situation." Al-Cid stated.

"Because," Ashe sulked her head a bit. "I am powerless to help."

"Now, now, now," I walked over to Ashe. "That kind of attitude just won't do." She looked up at me with a look of annoyance. I guess she wasn't expecting me to comfort her…especially since I annoyed the crap out of her and all.

"It is true, Legend. Do not use comforting words to smooth the edges."

"Listen, Ashe," I cleared my throat. I realized that all eyes were on me, so I had to think of something good to say. "You keep taking this entire situation seriously, which is fine and dandy, but you're doing it with overdose. In other words, you need to stop putting yourself down and putting everything all on you. You aren't the only person in Ivalice, you know. Think of what everyone else out there is facing at the moment."

"I am the Princess of Dalmasca!" She suddenly shouted at me. "I must take this situation at the fullest gravity! I know others of Dalmasca and other regions are relying on this war to end, but you are saying unswervingly to my face that I am being egotistical!"

"No one's being egotistical here, Ashe." I sighed. "I'm just saying that if you pressure yourself to the point where you don't think you can do anything good for this world, then that's just wrong and…stupid!"

"Are you calling me a fool?" Ashe squinted her eyes into a glare.

"No, no, no, no!" I waved my hands in front of me. "Not at all! I'm just telling you to stay calm and don't put the weight of the world on your shoulders."

"You just need to be silent." Ashe turned away from me and back to the Gran Kiltias. "Do not try to assist my frame of mind, because your acts are a waste of time and only aggravate." I stood there, looking down at my sneakers. I really felt like a pile of crap now, because not only did Ashe yell at me _again_, but she also insulted me. A Princess insulted me. Ashe is no Snow White who talks to squirrels and birds…she's…kind of a bitch.

"It has little to do with you, Princess." Al-Cid finally spoke up after some silence.

"Then what? If Lady Ashe were to extend her hand in friendship…perhaps I could then persuade the Emperor. His Excellency will solve things peacefully—" Larsa stepped forward again. But Al-Cid interrupted him.

"The Emperor Gramis is no more…his life…was taken."

Larsa stood there cold. His breath stopped and turned into a gasp.

"Father!"

I then looked down at Yuko, who was standing there slightly quivering. I knew she was upset, but her reaction wasn't as dramatic as Larsa's.

"Let us suppose you approach the Empire with a peaceful resolution. The late Emperor Gramis would have lent you his ear… that much is certain. But we are dealing with Vayne Solidor. Should the Princess return, he would claim her an imposter. All to tempt the Resistance into battle. Vayne wants this war… that much is certain. As our ill luck would have it, the man is a military genius." Al-Cid said. Military genius? More like a total moron douchebag that needs his ass whooped.

"_The dreams have told me thus. To reveal yourself would imperil us all. I see war, and Vayne's name writ bold on history's page_." Anastasis said.

"That's not going to happen just because you say so Professor Dumbledore!" I made yet another outburst (Out of story: Doesn't Anastasis remind you of Dumbledore a bit? That's why I put that in there…). "A hundred years from now when kids are at school studying about Ivalice's history, I would be disgusted if I had to write a damn essay about Vayne Solidor! The only time his name is going to be written down is on the gold medal of 'Ivalice's Biggest Jackass'!"

Suddenly, quicker than the speed of light, Anastasis opened his eyes.

"You wish to stop Vayne and this war, Legend of Raithwall? Truly words spoken by one selected by Raithwall…"

"Well…" I fixed my posture. "I _am_ the Legend of Raithwall, aren't I?" I looked over at Ashe in pride, and she did _not_ look happy at all…considering that I beat her to making Anastasis open his eyes anyhow.

"You must seek the other power of Raithwall left." Anastasis said.

"Does such a thing exist?" Ashe asked.

"Journey across the Paramina Rift…enter the Stilshrine of Miriam…there you will find the Sword of Kings…it can cut through Nethicite." Anastasis responded. Ashe nodded her head and began walking away. She stopped when she looked at Larsa, who hadn't moved an inch. Poor kid. I don't blame him for being upset.

"Thanks for everything, Gran Kiltias." I waved goodbye. He did nothing. The rest of us left, but I looked back to see Yuko walking over to Larsa.

"Larsa…" She said softly. "There is nothing more we can do here—…"

"Leave me." He said. Yuko gasped and stood there for a bit, but then she looked down at the ground and nodded her head slowly. She turned around and walked over to me.

"I don't think Larsa will be accompanying us any longer." Yuko sighed. I patted her head.

"It's okay, Yuko," I said. "Our party is pretty crowded anyway."

"You." Ashe came up to me. Aw, crap. "I cannot believe the Dynast-King would select a ridiculous girl like yourself. Embarrass me and embarrass Raithwall once more and we will rid of you."

"I wasn't embarrassing Raithwall! And sorry if I embarrassed you, but I was just saying what I needed to get out of my system for a while now!"

"You say disgraceful things about the Solidor clan! Even if Vayne wants this war to proceed as is, you should not—!"

"You would want to say the same, too! Admit it! I know you have to use your manners 24/7 because you're the Princess of Dalmasca and all, but everyone around you thinks that! I am not afraid to speak my mind, if you haven't noticed already, and if you don't like it, then why do you even bother talking to me?"

Ashe stood there quietly, with looks of anger spread all over her face.

"Easy now," Balthier walked up to us. "That is enough arguing, you two." I'm not kidding you on what happened next…in perfect unison, our fingers pointed to each other, and like an old cartoon, we both said:

"She started it!"

Something Ashe would _not _say that she _did_ say.

Balthier was quite amused with that with a small twinkle in his eye, but he then took my shoulders and walked me over to where everyone else was. Ashe still stood there, and I felt her beady little eyes glaring at the back of my head.

"Come on, everyone," Balthier said. "To the Stilshrine of Miriam."

_**To be continued in chapter nineteen!!**_

_**Phew…this is finally done!**_

_**I feel kind of bad for interrupting Anastasis and calling him Dumbledore…oh well…**_

_**See you all in chapter nineteen!!! BYE!!**_


	19. Chats with a Gigas

_Yuko: Things aren't going to be the same without Larsa around…_

_Misa: Yeah…I guess you're right, Yuko-chan._

_Fuu: We have enough people in our party; we had to vote someone off! Like Survivor! If this story were Survivor, who would be voted off next?_

_Jude: Fuu._

_Rozaline: Fuu._

_Ashe: Fuu. Big time._

_Fini: Hahaha. Fuu._

_Fuu: Since when do game guardians vote off their own human?_

_Jeff Probst: 4 votes, that's enough! Fuu, your tribe has spoken! –Extinguishes Fuu's torch-_

_Fuu: Damn…where'd you even come from Jeff?_

_Jeff Probst: I rode on a jet ski…_

_Al-Cid: Fuu does not own Final Fantasy XII, and that includes characters, plots, and settings. She, however, owns herself, Yuko, Fini, Misa, Jude, and Rozaline._

_Fuu: Don't worry. I ain't going no where…_

_Jeff Probst: But you were voted off…_

_Fuu: Go home Jeff! You have to host Survivor, don't you?_

_Misa: Just…enjoy chapter nineteen._

**Going into Ivalice **

**Chapter 19: Chats with a Gigas**

Guess what we had to do to get down to Paramina Rift? We had to go _down_ the mountain. It actually didn't take as long, maybe about an hour this time, because we didn't meet annoying men and his game guardians and I didn't faint on everyone. Although there were some steeper parts, no one fell and broke their neck. Not even me! But after that hour, we made it down to the flat part called Paramina Rift. We just had to follow a little path all the way to our location: The Stilshrine of Miriam.

"Check this place out." I said.

"The Sword of Kings is in there…" Jude said. "Interesting."

"Jude, be careful," Rozaline said to her human. "There are lots of dangerous fiends in there."

"I don't need to be warned about anything." Jude smirked.

"Fuu," Fini said to me. "Don't forget that there is an Esper in there."

"Oh, yeah…Mateus the Corrupt." I said. "I forgot that I could use Espers…poor Belias, I haven't summoned him yet."

"_**Isn't that just terrible?"**_

I froze up. That deep voice…I have never even heard it before! I glanced all around me, thinking that Jude or Balthier would be playing some sort of stupid joke on me, but they were talking to some other people. Who said that?

"Uh…is something wrong?" Fini asked me.

"Didn't you hear that creepy voice?" I asked her.

"What creepy voice?"

"Was I…the only one that heard it?"

"_**Only the Legend of Raithwall can hear my voice."**_

There it was again. Who was talking? Before I had any time to ask who this creepy deep-voiced man was, the doors of the Stilshrine opened up wide for the party to enter. I walked in, scared and confused. The inside of the Stilshrine of Miriam didn't help either. It was cold, a bit icy on the floor, and all walls were a creepy gray color. It was also pretty dark, too. Not a good place to have a picnic or go on a date…unless you like cold, dark places, then I have the perfect place for you and your partner to hold hands and eat homemade sandwiches.

"Let's all stay on our guard," Balthier stepped forward. "Anything can jump out and scare the young lady half to death." I scowled at this remark, but sadly for me, he was right. As we began walking through the Stilshrine halls, I found this an opportunity to find out whom the mysterious voice belonged to.

"Hello voice," I whispered. I didn't want anybody to think I was crazy by talking to a random voice only I could hear. "Can you tell me who you are?" There was a bit of silence at first, where I only heard our footsteps and something dripping from behind us.

"_**I am surprised, Legend. We have met before."**_

"We have?" I said, my voice increasing in volume. Vaan and Penelo turned around and stared at me, but I looked around as if someone else had said it. They fell for it. "Where?"

"The Tomb of Raithwall. It was the first time I had made eye contact with someone in centuries."

I was trying to think who was in the Tomb of Raithwall. It couldn't be anyone in my party, not even Vossler, and the only other people in the tomb were Raithwall and…

And Belias the Gigas…

"Belias? Is this you?" I asked.

"_**Yes, Master."**_

"Since when do Espers talk?"

"_**Only in the minds of the Legend and Raithwall. I was trapped in the Tomb for so long, and I never expected the Legend to make eye contact with me. Because you have arrived, I gave you my powers and let you defeat me. I tried to contact you many times after you obtained me, but you never released me to fight. Just recently, I tried to contact you but I unintentionally drained your energy, which caused you to collapse."**_

"So that's why I fainted on the way to Mt. Bur-Omisace." I said. It all began to make sense now why I fainted…since Belias was apart of me, he used up his strength, and that means that I used up my strength, too, which caused my fainting incident. "I'm so sorry I didn't summon you yet. I'm just so caught up in this journey that I completely forgot!"

"_**I understand, Legend. But you **_**will**_** use me soon, won't you?" **_

"I will. I promise." I winked. For some reason, I saw a vision of Belias…smiling. Since when do you see a Gigas smile? What a vision!

"Fuu, I'm sorry to interrupt you in your conversation, but," Misa said. "Whom in Ivalice were you talking to?"

"Belias the Gigas." I said.

"You can talk to him?" Yuko asked me. "And I completely forgot about how you can summon him into battle!"

"Me too. I apologized to him about it, too. I'll use him soon, maybe our next boss fight."

We continued walking through the Stilshrine. As always, fiends would jump out of nowhere, I would almost pee my pants in fear, I let the others take care of the fiends, rinse and repeat. Guess what else was in the Stilshrine? Confusing puzzles! To prevent my brain from, I let everyone else handle that part, too. While they were doing the puzzles, I added background music. Yes. I did. I put my iPod in, put it on shuffle, and kept clicking through songs until a catchy one popped up. A good example is "Right Round" by Flo Rida. I turned the volume on my iPod up to its highest…and while Basch would push that pedestal to the right spot, he would have a catchy tune to move it to. What else were they going to listen to, the ceiling dripping?

"Please turn that down this instant." It annoyed Ashe almost immediately. She was pushing a pedestal during "Right Round" too. I sighed, turning down the volume, but then I started singing obnoxiously, just to piss her off. She turned around and gave me an evil, infuriated stare.

"You said to turn the song down, you said nothing about turning _my _volume down." I snickered evilly. Ashe was about to say something, but stopped herself. She pushed the pedestal perfectly into place, which completed the puzzle! I put my iPod away and we walked over to a Save Crystal (It was previously a Crystal Bug, but we kicked its ass before it even moved) and we replenished our wounds. We then entered the doors…Vinuskar was awaiting us. He was a big-ass boss.

"This ain't gonna be easy." I gulped. I got out my ninja sword and I handed Soapy to Yuko, who put on a cleansing pad and started bubbling it up, in case Vinuskar wasn't too fond with having his pores clean.

As we all readied our weapons, Vinuskar suddenly shook around a bit, as if he were ready to cast something on us already…

"Let me guess," I exhaled. "It's slow."

"We can't be slowed down this early! We have to get out of range!" Jude ordered. We all moved out of the way, and as I tumbled into a corner, we all missed the negative-effecting spell. There _was_ a fly-like insect that was buzzing around in range. It was quite a speedy little bug, but once the spell was casted, the fly began to slow down…and I mean SLOW.

"I called it!" I exclaimed.

"That's great and all," Fini sighed. "But we have a fight to win."

"Right." I stood up, ninja sword in hand. I ran up to Vinuskar, attempting to strike him, but he pushed me all the way back to the corner I was in. I hit the wall hard, some bits of rocks and pebbles falling from here and there. "I fail."

"Fuu-chan! Use Belias!" Yuko said to me from the opposite side of the room.

"Good idea! I _did _make a promise!" I stood up and stood there. "How do I summon him?"

"Call my name and put your weapon in the ground."

"You gotcha." I nodded my head. I closed my eyes…that's when I felt warmth on a spot of my back. It was the orange-colored dot I saw in the mirror in the tent when we were heading to Jahara. It was warming up like crazy as I felt a small gust of warm wind surround me. I opened my eyes, and raised my ninja sword above my head. "_BELIAS_!!" I struck down my weapon into the stone ground…

The floor beneath me began to form a large circle. It began glowing deep, deep red color and the spot on my back was now practically sizzling…although it didn't hurt that much. I got kind of used to the burning feeling. Then, suddenly, out from the ground appeared Belias himself. Because he appeared under me, my body was lifted up, and soon I was sitting on his shoulder. I never expected Belias to be _this _tall. I kind of liked sitting on his shoulder, it made me feel…cool.

"_**You have summoned me, Master," **_Belias said, although his mouth (wherever his mouth was supposed to be) didn't move. _**"I shall do whatever task you tell me."**_

"Make me a sandwich! No onions!" I ordered. Belias grunted in confusion. I giggled. "Just kidding! Defeat Vinuskar!" Belias nodded his head and looked over at Vinuskar. Belias growled and then stomped over quickly to Vinuskar (who was pretty lousy in the speedy department) and used a powerful physical attack on the boss. Vinuskar was even pushed back to the wall, nearly crushing Vaan (Silly Vaan, always in the way!)

"_**I only have so much time to battle, Master," **_Belias said. "_**When I must return inside of you, I will perform my final attack…Hellfire. I will put a protection spell on you and your comrades."**_

"Aw, that's awfully nice! Can you remove it off of Ashe though?"

"_**Ah, I heard your arguments…but you may regret it later. She **_**is**_** a descendant of Raithwall." **_

"I know, I know, I was just kidding again!" I exclaimed.

"_**Time to unleash Hellfire. Thanks for letting me participate in battle."**_

"Anytime!" I grinned. Suddenly, Vinuskar came up to pushed Belias and me backwards a bit! This caused me to fall off of his shoulder and land on top of Ashe. I didn't apologize to her as I got off of her, and I watched in amazement as Belias used his final attack on Vinuskar. Flames appeared from everywhere and straight into Vinuskar…Belias then turned into a floating, reddish-orange orb. The orb then floated over to me and absorbed into my chest…the warmth on that spot on my back returned only for a brief moment before it died down. And as soon as the sensation disappeared, Vinuskar vanished, crying in pain as he departed.

"That was amazing, Fuu-chan!" Yuko squealed in joy.

"Don't thank me, thank Belias. He's the one that kicked his butt." I stated.

"It wasn't that awesome." Jude sighed.

"Yeah! Jude deserves summoning Espers more than you do!" Rozaline shouted. Of course, I ignored those two.

"This is what the Legend is all about," Balthier walked up to me. "Summoning the unassailable Espers and becoming history. Also, bringing peculiar questions to everyone with her clowning around…but yet, it makes us grin." Balthier gave me my favorite crooked smile once more, and this caused me to smile and blush.

"Come on guys, you're embarrassing me." I chuckled.

"Let's just find the Sword of Kings." Ashe spoke up. I guess jealousy bit her in the butt. "It's in here." Jude and Rozaline happily followed behind her as she headed towards the next door in the Stilshrine. Rozaline suddenly stopped.

"I sense threat." She said. "There is something behind these doors."

"Mateus the Corrupt." I said. "The second Esper we must obtain."

"We have to fight him, huh?" Vaan asked. He brought up his hands, cracking his knuckles. "We can take him."

"If we handled Vinuskar," Basch brought his sword up. "Then surely we can handle another Esper."

"I'm ready as ever," Jude smirked. "Nothing better than getting fit."

"The Sword of Kings is being guarded by Mateus," Ashe raised her sword too. "We shall defeat it in an instant."

"This place may be a bit scary," Penelo said. "But that isn't going to stop me from a fight with an Esper!"

"We're going to make Fuu-chan stronger once we beat up Mateus. She will be more legendary after all of this!" Yuko smiled.

"We shall fight. We shall triumph." Fran said, readying her bow and arrow.

"For the young lady's increasing strength," Balthier loaded up his gun. "We take him down." He looked over at me, grinning. I nodded my head and grinned back.

"Let's kick some icy Esper butt!" And after those words, Ashe opened the doors, and we ran inside…

_**TO BE CONTINUED IN CHAPTER 20!!!**_

_**Woot!**_


	20. Balthier's Confession

_Fuu: EVERYONE! It's time to celebrate!_

_Balthier: Celebrate what?_

_Fuu: This is 'Going into Ivalice's' TWENTIETH CHAPTER!! I didn't expect this story to make it this far, but it did! I am so proud!_

_Balthier: And that's the celebration?_

_Fuu: Well…yeah!_

_Balthier: Anything else? Is that all? If it is, then I'm disappointed…_

_Fuu: Just you wait, Balthier! There will be more to this dandy occasion! Maybe I should write another Final Fantasy XII story starring the Game Guardians!_

_Fini: HOLY_

_Misa: CRAP_

_Rozaline: ARE YOU SERIOUS?_

_Fuu: Yeah. The Game Guardians in this story need to have more secrets revealed about them! Sort of like a prequel to this story, and its all game guardians!_

_Rozaline: I could use the spotlight every now and then._

_Misa: Same here! We need love!_

_Fini: Now this really IS a celebration!_

_Fuu: Score._

_Garbuden: I found you!_

_Fuu: Ah, crap! What do you want?_

_Garbuden: The Disclaimer. Let me say it._

_Fuu: Oh…then…go for it!_

_Garbuden: Fuu does not own Final Fantasy XII. This all includes characters, settings, and plots. She owns only herself, Yuko, Fini, Misa, Jude, Rozaline, and ME!_

_Fuu: Oh yeah, I own you too…_

_Balthier: I have so many questions...but I do not wish for them to be answered._

_Fuu: Let's just go on with the TWENTIETH CHAPTER!!_

**Going into Ivalice**

**Chapter 20: Balthier's Confession**

We all charged in as soon as Ashe opened up those doors in the Stilshrine of Miriam. And, as we all expected, there was the second Esper…Mateus the Corrupt. He was there, with captured sorceress and all, ready for a good fight. We were ready, too.

"Go!" Basch shouted. We all ran around the room like headless chickens, except we were pretty coordinated and not ridiculous looking, and we found certain spots in the large room where we can easily attack Mateus and distract him. At first, Mateus couldn't decide whom to attack first…but after a while of standing there, he let out an ice spell that shot out various, sharp pieces of ice in many parts of the room. One nearly hit me in the head but I rolled over just in time. I clenched my ninja sword even tighter when I ran up to Mateus, slicing him in the arm. He turned around and faced me…but instead of pushing me back or wiping me out, he stopped…

That same eerie feeling I had back in the Tomb…it was back.

Right then as Mateus stared at me, I felt all senses disappear. All I could see was Mateus.

"_**Mateus…it's been centuries…" **_I heard the voice of Belias…but it hurt! Pain! It was as if he was yelling so loud it would split through my skull!

"_**Belias! You are apart of this girl now?" **_If you would imagine Belias's voice deep and growly, Mateus's was just…scary. He sounded like a snake with the last word of his sentence slurred…it scared the crap out of me the first time I heard it, but then again, I lost most of my senses…I only heard these voices paining through my skull.

"_**This is the Dynast-King's chosen Legend! Surrender and become one with her!" **_Belias roared even louder, which did not help the terrifying pains in my skull. I saw visions of the two communicating…but they were very brief, like flashbacks in movies. Except this wasn't a movie, this was reality.

"_**I am stronger than you, Belias! You know that! I wield the power of ice to take you down quicker than the speed of light itself!" **_Mateus shouted. _**"I will not surrender until you properly defeat me in battle, which will NOT happen today or any day!"**_

I had just about enough of this…my skull was ready to burst in so much pain, but I didn't release eye contact from Mateus this entire time. I felt the warm dot on my back sizzle, and now I felt another part on my back freeze so much it burned. I had never felt this much pain in my life. I wanted to scream or cry and stop making eye contact with this power-hungry Esper, but I couldn't…something prevented me from breaking this eye contact. I think I grunted in desperation here and there, but I hardly remember that. Suddenly, I heard the gunshot. The beautiful tone ringing in my ears…but after that gunshot, I wish I hadn't, no matter how beautiful it sounded firing from Balthier's gun.

The worst of the pain came.

It really felt like my skull split into two. I screamed, clutching onto my head and falling backwards. The sizzling dot and the icy burn on the other spot on my back broke free from my back and managed to get inside of my head. I was clutching onto my head even harder now, tears streaming down my face. I was…_dying_.

"FUU!" Fini flew over to me, touching my hand. "What's wrong, Fuu?" I wish I could've responded properly, but I only answered with more earsplitting screams. I opened my eyes, and I saw Basch, Ashe, and Vaan taking down Mateus…

I was dozing in and out continuously…

I saw Mateus vanish…

I saw a blue card-like item float in mid-air…

I saw Balthier run over to where I was…

I heard nothing but my screams of tremendous, agonizing pain…

"FUU-CHAN!" I heard Yuko this time. "FUU-CHAN!" I could barely keep my eyes open now because I've had them shut for so long, so I could only make out the outlines of figures…but I recognized one figure just a few feet in front of me.

Balthier.

I recognized the outline of his face…but I didn't see the look on it. I couldn't tell if he was distressed or if he stayed calm. Either way, I didn't want to see. I just wanted to…die…right there. I wanted the pain to go away. And it did…suddenly, the pain in my skull vanished…I felt an icy sensation in my chest, as if you ate a bunch of ice cubes. I started breathing normally…but I lay there on the ground, staring up at everyone above me.

"Fuu-chan?" Yuko walked up to me. She had tears pouring down her little face.

"Is…this…?" I didn't know what else to say, I was left breathless.

"_**I have been sealed." **_I heard Mateus's haunting voice ring through my head, which was aching a bit. "_**I shall now be under your order, Master."**_

"What happened?" Jude asked.

"Chosen Legend, my future queen," Fran spoke up. I assumed she was quoting from some old tablet or something that was Raithwall's. "Sealing of mystical beasts will give you immense pain and suffering once communication takes its part, but afterwards, a beast will become one with you."

"Raithwall's texts." Ashe said, which made my assumption correct.

"So, in other words," Jude said. "Every time this girl makes eye contact with an Esper, the other Espers inside of her will go haywire and just start talking back and forth?"

"It's not that they go berserk," Basch stated. "It's more like their communicating skills through Fuu's mind are so powerful that they effect her."

"But why? Why would the Espers talking to each other hurt?" Yuko questioned.

"Think about it, Yuko-chan," I heard myself blurt out after a while of just laying on the ground, panting. "Mateus…we had to fight him, and when we were fighting him, he was obsessed with power, and he was obsessed with defeating us. He didn't realize that I was Raithwall's Legend until Belias talked to him through my mind. I had visions of them talking face to face…do you think two powerful creatures would try to be tame to get their point across to one another?" Yuko stood there for a little bit, and she understood what I meant.

"So your guess is that because of their strong powers," Jude cleared his throat from asking so many questions. "That the powers they have affects you." There you go.

"But wait a second," Penelo said. "Why didn't this happen in the Tomb? Why didn't she do the same when we were fighting Belias?"

"Because she did not obtain a single Esper at the time," Ashe stated. "Because there was no Esper to talk to Belias, she had no pain. Now that the communication has begun with Belias and Mateus, she endured pain."

"It's all great that we're solving this right now," I said. "But can I get off of the ground? My back is starting to freeze up." Basch came over and gave me his hand, and I took it. My legs were a little wobbly…okay, a LOT wobbly, like game controllers on high vibrate. I needed to lean against Basch for a while, and Vaan came over and took my other side.

"Can you move on?" Vaan asked.

"Y-yeah." I nodded, although honestly, I wanted someone to bring me a sofa and a warm, cozy blanket to wrap me in as I waited in here. Of course, that would be a pain to get. "Thanks guys."

We all looked ahead at the doors behind where Mateus was, and those doors would surely lead to our main priority: the Sword of Kings. Vaan and Basch still helped me walk and we all walked over to the doors. Yuko walked over to me.

"Fuu-chan, I was so scared for you. Are you all right?" She asked me tenderly.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Honestly." I gave her a weak smile.

"We didn't know this was supposed to happen to you, Fuu," Misa stated solemnly. "We're so sorry we didn't warn you. We are…worthless."

"Don't say that." I exclaimed. "It's not your fault you didn't know about it. Now we know, and it's over with."

"What…did it feel like?" Yuko asked. "The pain?"

"As if…" I tried the best way to describe it. "As if something was slowly, deeply cutting your skull in half." Yuko looked down at the ground and nodded. I saw Vaan glance down at me and then look at Basch. I could tell by the look in Vaan's eyes that he was scared for me…same goes with everyone else, I bet. Even though some people don't show their emotions very often (EXAMPLE: Fran, Jude, Ashe) I knew that they cared for me, no matter how much they acted like they didn't. I didn't really want so many people caring for me at once, though; I felt like a celebrity in a storm of paparazzi…all eyes on me. The attention…I kind of hated it…especially when everyone was scared. Everyone's eyes were on me: Vaan, Basch, Ashe, Fran, Fini, Misa, Jude, Rozaline, Yuko, Penelo…Balthier…

Balthier…

I never heard him speak, and I never saw him look at me. I glanced around, my eyes darting rapidly all over the place, and I saw him behind me, and he was looking directly at me. His usual stare was gone…this stare was beyond compare. It looked heartbreaking.

I almost wanted to cry when I saw his solemn look in his eyes…it was so sad. I had to look away to prevent myself from trembling even more.

The obtaining of the Sword of Kings was a blur to me. I just remember Ashe seeing the ghost of Rasler again, picking up the sword and trying to break the Dawn Shard in half. She completely missed cutting it…that was about it. We all exited the chamber, and I pushed Basch and Vaan away.

"I can handle it guys." I stated. "I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" Vaan asked. I nodded. My legs _did_ feel better.

We all headed through the icy halls of the Stilshrine again, only this time monsters didn't pop out from random places at random times. And all I heard was the ceiling dripping again, and our footsteps echoing through the halls. All was silent, besides those two things, until I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned around to find myself looking into Balthier's eyes. His usual, plain look was back, and he didn't break eye contact.

"May I…talk with you?" He asked me. By the serious but saddened tone in his voice, I knew it was going to be something related to my incident with Mateus. I couldn't help myself but nod my head slowly. He put his other hand on my other shoulder, and he bent down so our faces were just a few feet apart from each other. "First off, are you sure you are all right?" He asked me. His voice was slow; smooth…a masterpiece in my book.

"Yes." I said softly.

"Secondly," He said, looking down at the ground, and then looking back at me. "Maybe…you shouldn't…be with us anymore."

My heart stopped.

"N-no." I took his hands off of my shoulders. "What are you saying, you're gonna abandon me?"

"Not abandon…but…" Balthier looked at the ground again. "I don't know how to directly put it with you, but…"

"Yes?"

"But…I don't want you feeling any more pain." Balthier exhaled slowly. I was standing there, and his eyes looked solemn again. Remember when I said before that I would start to cry if I kept looking at them? I did now. I felt hot tears burn up and fall down my cheeks.

"Don't worry about me." I tried my best to give him a smile, but through the tears and my chin trembling, it didn't turn out as one. "I'll be fine." Balthier looked at me, and right there, he grabbed me and pulled me into a tight hug.

"I don't think you can keep that promise…" Balthier whispered in my ear sadly. "If I were to lose you…I don't think I could forgive myself." I sobbed loudly when I heard this. Balthier _cared_ for me and my safety.

"Don't you dare say that you want me to leave you!" I cried in his chest. "What would I do without all of you?" Balthier rested his chin on my head, pulling me in tighter.

"The pain you endured back there." He said. "I know it will happen again when we encounter more Espers. I will have to see you in so much pain again."

He had a point. This wasn't the last time I would have that terrible pain.

"I know," I said. "But I am Raithwall's Legend…I won't die, I assure you. I promise you, Balthier." Balthier said nothing for a while, and he didn't dare loosen his grip around me.

"I trust you…Fuu."

I blushed at this. It was the first time he called me by my name since we first met in the Garamsythe waterway. No "young lady" or "you" or "girl". It was my name. I held on even tighter when this happened. It felt like hours…just us standing there, him holding on to me.

"I trust you." He said again. "But believe me, I will not be fond of this. Forgive me if my worrying is overkill." He finally let me go.

"Don't worry," I finally gave him a smile. "It's not. I like how people care about me, no matter how much they act like I'm annoying them." He gave me my favorite crooked smile yet again.

"Not annoying, but a pleasure." He said. He then took his finger and wiped away all of the tears on my face. Good thing I had waterproof mascara on this time. As we slowly glanced to our left, we noticed that everyone was staring at us.

"Isn't that just precious?" Fini grinned.

"Uhh." I glanced around to see what to do, and I stepped back from Balthier. "We should probably go. This place isn't warming up one bit." I could tell that my face was probably redder than a tomato. Balthier just looked at me, and then he smirked…and I thought I heard him chuckle a bit. He walked over to me and picked me up.

"We're going uphill. Fainting again will bring us even more worry." He stated.

"If that's what you think." I sighed. I then looked at everyone else. "Okay guys, enough care-for-Fuu time. Let's head back to Mt. Bur-Omisace already." Everyone agreed and we finally headed out the main doors to the Stilshrine…but as we exited…

"Hey. Look." Vaan pointed at the sky. There above us was an airship from the Imperial army. At first we were all concerned that it would land right in front of us, Garbuden and his scoundrels running out and tying us up…but it passed right over us.

"Look." Fran pointed in the distance…where we saw pitch-black smoke rising from the top of the mountain…smoke was coming out of Mt. Bur-Omisace.

"We have to hurry." Basch said. We then heard someone gasp loudly. We all looked to see Yuko, her hands covered over her mouth.

"LARSA MIGHT BE UP THERE! DID HE LEAVE YET?"

No one answered her. How were we supposed to know? Yuko looked around frantically, and then, as if she participated in a 100-meter dash…she sprinted like no other five-year old could in the direction of Mt. Bur-Omisace.

"Yuko!!" I shouted.

"Yuko come back here!" Misa called after her, flittering her wings madly as she was trailing behind Yuko.

"Put me down," I said to Balthier. Instead of him letting me down, though, I pretty much jumped out of his arms, almost slipping in the snow. "Yuko!" I put all agility into my feet as I began following Yuko all the way through Paramina Rift and up the mountain. Everyone else was actually pretty far behind, but I could see them if I turned around. They were about fifty yards back. I then looked forward. The smoke was much closer now and I could smell it, and it almost made me sick because of how strong it was.

"Come on! We're almost there!" Fini shouted. I nodded my head as we continued sprinting up the mountain. Now a one-hour walk up and down turned into a twenty-minute sprint-fest. And finally we reached the top.

I gasped at the sight.

_**TO BE CONTINUED IN CHAPTER 21!!!**_

_**This chapter didn't have much humor in it this time, but I still hoped you liked it. But wasn't that just SWEET between Balthier and Fuu? OMGGGGGGG!!!!**_

_**Okay. Enough of my thoughts…write YOUR thoughts down on a review!**_

**_Oh, yeah, and tell me what you think about my idea about the story all about Final Fantasy XII's Game Guardians! I think its a pretty neat idea to let them have their own story!! :)_**

_**BYE!**_


	21. Panic at Mt BurOmisace

_Fini: Come on guys! We have to find Yuko!_

_Fuu: Where could she be? Is she hiding somewhere?_

_(Basch enters with a stuffed animal Cactoid)_

_Fuu: Uh, Basch, what is—?_

_Basch: Bait._

_(After about twenty seconds, we see Yuko's head peeking from a corner, she approaches quickly, taking the Cactoid in her arms.)_

_Yuko: So…soft. _

_Fuu: Basch levels up for luring in Yuko-chan._

_Basch: Epic win…_

_Fini: Who hasn't said the Disclaimer yet?_

_Fuu: Yeah! We're already running out of people! I mean, last time freaking Garbuden said the disclaimer!_

_Migelo: ME!! I HAVEN'T SAID IT YET!!_

_Fuu: Okay, Migelo, give it a go._

_Migelo: Fuu does not own Final Fantasy XII. This all includes plots, characters, and settings. The only people she owns are herself, Fini, Yuko, Misa, Jude, and Rozaline. Oh, and Garbuden and Hiroyuki._

_Fuu: Okay. That's settled. Enjoy chapter twenty-one y'alls!_

**Going into Ivalice**

**Chapter 21: Panic at Mt. Bur-Omisace**

The sight was truly shocking. Everywhere I glanced and everywhere my head turned, there were people lying in pain. The Imperials invaded Mt. Bur-Omisace and injured its villagers!

"Fuu, we must find Yuko-chan." Fini said slowly. I could tell that the sight appalled her, too. I nodded my head slowly in response, and we walked further into Mt. Bur-Omisace, seeing more people injured. Some wounds looked fatal on some.

"Call help! Make haste and call help!!"

"Mommy! Daddy! Mommy, where are you?"

"We're losing him! Someone bring assistance!"

"Momma, please don't die!"

"Fuu!" I looked forward to see Misa zooming into my direction. Our faces nearly collided because of how fast her little wings were fluttering.

"Misa! Where's Yuko?" I asked.

"She ran to the Gran Kiltias," Misa panted. "But there was so much smoke…and so many screams were heard from ahead…the smoke was too much to handle for me to accompany her…WHAT IF SHE DIES IN THERE?" I was staring at her, beads of sweat slowly dripping down my face from the constant pressure, the heat from the flames and the smoke from ahead, and because of my fear. I was scared for Yuko. There was no way in Ivalice that someone like Yuko would survive in a chaotic mess like that. I looked up at the smoke bellowing from the temple grounds. For some reason, I felt…calmer. I felt like I had enough confidence to run in there, grab Yuko, and bring her back to safety. I turned around and I just saw Balthier and everyone else just enter Mt. Bur-Omisace. Balthier spotted me, and that's when I turned to Fini and Misa.

"I'll get Yuko. Don't worry." I gave them a small smile of confidence before I ran into the smoke ahead of me.

"FUU! DON'T DO THIS! YOU COULD DIE!" Fini shouted. I turned around one last time to see them floating there in intense apprehension and worry. I looked ahead of me as black smoke was surrounding me everywhere. But I never stopped running. I kept going past people, injured, little kids lost, and broken down objects. It didn't take me that long to reach the temple, and I ran into the heat with utmost courage. It felt like running through a bonfire, hot, burning your cheeks, and it made me sweat even more because I was wearing a black zip-up hoodie. I got out of the flames and nearly tripped on each stair. I feared the worst for Yuko, but I couldn't give up just yet…I continued up the stairs until I reached the very top. I stood, motionless, as I saw imperial guards, holding Yuko up by her wrists above her head, making her be lifted off of the ground.

"Tell me, brat, where's your friend the Legend?" A guard asked Yuko.

"I'm not saying a word to you repulsive monsters." Yuko said through clenched teeth. Despite being five years old and innocent ninety percent of the time, Yuko was pretty damn scary when she glared. A guard punched her in the stomach, hard. Yuko flinched in pain and blood trickled out of her tiny, pale mouth.

"TELL US NOW!" Another guard said, slapping her face, which would've hurt ten times more with strong armor going rapidly against your cheeks. Yuko was then thrown to the ground. "You bitch." The same guard kicked her in the side many times, and I couldn't bear hearing Yuko's defenseless screams. I was still shocked that they didn't notice me at the top of the stairs, but that was good, since it was my chance to attack. The guards were occupied with harming Yuko, so none of them saw me as I started to run. I slammed my entire body into one guy, which caused the kicking to stop. I fell on the ground but immediately stood back up again.

"Well, well, there she is." A guard snickered. I glared at them all.

"Do you even realize what you jerks have done to this sacred place?!" I screamed at them. "Just about everyone is injured, children can't find their parents anywhere, and people are DYING!" I screamed the last word the loudest. The guards didn't seem to react to my emotions.

"Is that so? Better tell that to Judge Bergan." One guard said. They moved out of the way and towards me, and I got a glimpse of Yuko. She was lying there, shaking a bit, the blood dripping from her mouth landing in a small puddle next to her mouth. I was worried for her, but I faced my attention to the guards coming towards me.

"NO! NO! LET ME GO!" I shouted. They only laughed as they walked me over to where the Gran Kiltias was…but instead of sitting in his throne, Anastasis was on the ground, motionless.

Anastasis was dead.

"How could you do this?" I growled. "Do you realize what you have done?"

"Do _you_ realize that if this pace is kept to a steady beat," A different voice echoed. Appearing from behind me. I suddenly recognized the face. It was Judge Bergan. "Ivalice can easily fall into our hands." He gave me a gruesome smile and I tried to shake the guards off of me even more. "Ah, the Legend arrives alone, does she?"

"No, everyone else isn't far behind, I assure you, so don't get your hopes up." I hissed.

"Well, that's good, they have nice timing." Bergan laughed. He walked right in front of me, holding his helmet in his left hand, his face just inches from mine. "They will be able to see my proposal."

PROPOSAL? Was he serious?

"I saw that fiery look in your eyes, Legend," Bergan laughed even more, grabbing my chin tightly. "You need to learn your manners and give much more appreciative looks to your Imperials, my dear." Okay, I wanted to shout a bunch of things to this nut job. One, how old was this guy anyway? He looked just around forty or fifty-something, and me, being fourteen, I'm pretty sure that's illegal, even in a place like Ivalice. Two, obviously he didn't give pigeon shit about me and he just wanted to marry me for power to rule Ivalice and all that bad guy jazz, so he was showing no signs of affection now and will never do that (Bergan being affectionate? Yuck.) Thirdly, even if I got as far as standing on the altar in wedding gown and all, I would still say ABSOLUTELY NOT. Ah, yes, so many things I wanted to screech into this guy's old ear, but my throat stopped me from speaking for some reason. I guess I was too scared to even make a little mouse-like squeak. However, I was able to do something else that made me ten times more Badass.

With flawless timing, I was able to spit right into his face. Aw, yeah, total epic win for Fuu. He flinched in disgust as he wiped my spit off of his face.

"Take it as a sign of love, asshole." I glared at him...it was the only thing I could die to prevent myself from laughing in his face. He glared back, and with one swift move, he slapped me right across the face.

"Like I said before, you need to learn better manners…" He then laughed while I was dragged over to a bunch of chains. I was tied up in them while he ran up and grabbed my neck with his one hand. I gasped, and he was clenching pretty tight, too. "I think one way of improving your manners is to make you my wife, and you will accept it." He said. I was ready for another spitting, but he covered my mouth with his other hand. "Hold still and I'll handle you well." He clenched my chin again as he lowered into my face…okay, there was NO WAY that I was going to waste my first kiss on this guy, so I struggled as much as I can. I turned my head to the side and I felt his gross lips on my neck.

"Gyah!" I flushed bright pink. The chains were bound on my wrists and ankles tight, so there was no way I would be escaping just by shaking side to side…I had to think of something. Bergan's disgusting ways weren't helping me in this situation, either. I looked over, praying that Balthier and everyone would come in with a parade of angry villagers as they took down Bergan and the Imperials with their torches and pitchforks…yeah, in my dreams. And dreams don't happen in nightmares. "Someone…help me." Slowly I felt my confidence fade away…but I still didn't give up hope. Maybe Belias and Mateus would come out of me and beat the disgusting crap out of Bergan? But that can't be possible because only I can summon them when my arms and legs are free…damn. I also glanced over to see where Yuko was…but she disappeared. I only saw the small, red dot on the floor where she was lying before. Great, it was just me, Bergan, and about a half dozen Imperial guards. "SOMEONE HELP ME!!!" I shouted even louder. About that time is where I heard footsteps…I looked over and saw everyone. Yuko was in front, wiping more blood from her mouth. She had gotten everyone to rescue me. I was so happy to see everyone that I barely noticed that Bergan had removed my jacket.

"Ah, our vagrant princess…swift as your lust of revenge led you to the Sword of Kings." Bergan stated.

"Put her down, Bergan!" Ashe said as she looked over at me. I tried to get out of the chains, but nothing worked out well. I looked into Balthier's eyes, and he looked ready to bash the crap out of Bergan. I felt really guilty because I already broke my promise that I would be "fine and dandy" all of the time…so far, things weren't fine and dandy. Bergan was talking, but it was kind of muted out…during that time, I felt this…adrenaline rush. It felt eerily similar to the feeling I had back when we fought Ghis on the Dreadnought Leviathan. That situation where I felt pain but strength at the same time…except, it was stronger.

"_**Don't overexert this." **_Mateus's voice chimed.

"_**Use only the amount you feel you need to utilize." **_Belias's voice also chimed in my head.

"_**Go, my preferred,"**_ Raithwall's voice this time. "_**Do all you can without harming those you love." **_

That's when it happened…and it was all a hasty blur…but a memorable blur.

As quick as lightning striking down, the chains on my ankles and wrists shattered. I jumped with all of my might and tackled Bergan to the ground. He got up quickly, and he looked at me. Except this was a look of _fear_. I immediately charged at him again, and I punched him…hard. Bergan fell backwards into a wall, denting it greatly. I ran over, and there, I started beating the crap out of him. Armor? What armor? My punches were somehow so incredibly strong that his armor felt like nothing more than clay.

"_**Slow down, Fuu." **_Mateus said. "_**You have done your deeds appropriately."**_

But I didn't slow down. I only quickened my pace.

"_**Fuu," **_Belias growled. "_**Stop. Stop. You've done sufficiently."**_

But once I gained this mysterious adrenaline rush of strength, I never wanted to stop. The only time I felt like I should properly stop is when Bergan would turn into a pile of dust.

"_**YOU MUST STOP!" **_Raithwall's voice shuttered in my mind... That's when I stopped. My fist shook violently as it was only a matter of inches away from punching Bergan in the face again. I looked down to see his eyes shut…unmoving. He was dead.

"Fuu…" Penelo's voice shook in fright. I turned to look at everyone, just staring at me, every once in a while they would glance at the corpse of Judge Bergan, but they mostly kept their eyes on me.

"The one with knowledge and the one to attain all Espers with markings and wit," Rozaline shivered. "The one who has been chosen by the Dynast-King Raithwall himself many years ago, the year of his death, to be precise…the one chosen to be almost apart of the kinfolk of Raithwall…this girl, from what we've seen now with her true powers…is the soul of the Legend, Delfenynn."

"Delfenynn." Fran whispered, as if she heard Rozaline's saying, which she did not.

Before I would ask who this Delfenynn was, I felt all energy drain from me as I fell backwards, passing out from exhaustion.

…

It felt so long before I woke up. It was dark outside, and everything was shrouded by random shrubs and trees. There was a small campfire beside me…and there were two tents with some lanterns on in them. Where…was I?

"Fuu!" Vaan ran over to me. Okay, good, I'm not in the fourth district of Saturn.

"What is this place, Vaan?" I asked, sitting up and rubbing my head achingly.

"The Salikawood. You missed it after you passed it in Mt. Bur-Omisace. We all decided that we had to go to Draklor Laboratory in Archades to destroy the Dusk Shard. We have to go there on foot, though. So, we walked through the Mosphoran Highwaste, and now we're camping out here. We'll be heading to the Phon Coast tomorrow, but we all decided that tomorrow should be…a break day."

I blinked.

"Break day?"

"Yeah. It's the Phon Coast for crying out loud! Who doesn't love a good, relaxing day at the beach? And then the day after that, we'll be all refreshed to go to Draklor." Vaan stated a little too excitedly.

"So, we're trying to save Ivalice and saving it includes playing beach volleyball and snorkeling at the Phon Coast?" I had a blank stare on my face as I asked this. Vaan scratched his head, sighing.

"Ashe, Fran, Basch, and Jude said the same thing."

"Hey, I'm cool with it." I gave him a grin. "I was just testing you, blondie." Vaan excitedly grinned back.

"All right!" I chuckled and then glanced over at the tents.

"So, where did those come from?" I asked, pointing at the tents.

"The Moogles here lent them to us. We figured we could carry them around in your backpack, if that's okay." Vaan said.

"Yeah, there's plenty of room still." I said. And to be honest, there was. Honestly, I could keep a Triceratops in my backpack and there would STILL be enough room.

"I'll go tell everyone else that you're up." Vaan stood up and walked over to the tents. I blinked a few times before glancing over to see Fran sitting beside me…I never noticed her there until now.

"Uh…hi." I said.

"Are you concerned?" She asked me, looking at me out of the corner of her eye.

"Concerned about what?" I questioned.

"What you did to Bergan." She said. "You must show some signs of…trepidation."

"Well…I try not to show it, to be honest." I stated. There was a blanket next to me, and I took it, wrapping it around me as tight as I could. I also moved myself closer to the little campfire. It was quiet for a bit, but it wasn't really awkward anymore…I guess Fran and I kind of kindled a friendship and we decided to stick with it no matter what. I sat there, re-thinking all that happened back at Mt. Bur-Omisace…Judge Bergan…Anastasis…Raithwall and the Espers talking to me through my head…everything. But there was one thing I remembered that really stuck to my brain like glue…the name Delfenynn. I looked over at Fran, who kind of had her eyes closed most of the way. I swallowed hard before I asked her.

"Fran, who is Delfenynn?"

It was silent for a bit, but I watched as Fran slowly opened her eyes again. She looked at me. She smiled a bit.

"Caring for a story?"

"Yeah, as long as it doesn't have any big words in it." I chuckled nervously.

"Well, I will do my best to describe it to you," Fran stated. She looked at the campfire one more time before turning to me. "Long ago when the Dynast-King Raithwall was still active, pure and alive, he knew a young woman by the name of Delfenynn. She was vibrant and powerful, a sorceress who knew a lot about Ivalice's past. She wanted to know more, and she believed that marrying Raithwall would no longer limit her powers and her needs, although she did not love him. She knew that Raithwall would achieve so many objectives in his lifetime." I nodded my head, wanting Fran to continue with her story.

"But before they married," Fran said. "Delfenynn grew…abnormal. She did research on beings called Espers, and she summoned eleven of them with the help of a marking she drew. She could not summon all thirteen, because one was in Raithwall's grasp, and the other was not to be there until all of the others were in the location. Delfenynn went on a rampage, thirsting for power to control these beasts that defied the gods above, but she did not face Raithwall in battle. Raithwall sealed her spirit away, and she withered into nothingness. However, her powers were kept. Raithwall separated the Espers back to their original locations whence they came, and he kept her spirit in the palm of his hand." I continued to nod my head. This was all leading up to something important…

"Raithwall knew that the day of his death, he would have to release the energy of Delfenynn, and he decided to awaken her in the future, only as a different being to enter the world of Ivalice. He wrote many texts about one who would know many things about Ivalice's history and its people, and how she can hold many powers within her…much like Delfenynn."

It all began to make some sense now…

"The energy of Delfenynn…is sealed within you, Fuu. You and Delfenynn are connected…intertwined with knowledge, power, and the ability to control Espers. You are both Legends, but she never lived up to be one due to her greed and egocentricity."

"So," I cleared my throat, ready to put this in simpler terms. "This girl, Delfenynn, she had all these magic powers and she wanted to marry Raithwall so she can discover more powers. She discovered the Espers and wanted to control them all, but Raithwall stopped her from doing so by sealing her away and kind of killing her, but not her 'energy'. Her energy was unlocked when I entered Ivalice!"

"You've been listening well." Fran smiled.

"So, I'm Delfenynn?"

"Not quite. You just share the same abilities and the same rage…that rage you had when you killed Bergan and used it on Ghis back on the Leviathan, that was the anger and energy of Delfenynn…the rage she wanted to use on Raithwall to obtain Belias and complete her madness." I sat there, looking at the sparks coming out of the campfire.

"I wish someone had told me about this a little sooner."

"We did not realize that it was Delfenynn until you defeated Bergan."

"Well, I guess that explains a lot," I stated. "It really wasn't like Raithwall just came up with this icon for everyone to look out for in the future." I looked over at my knowledgeable Viera friend. "Thank you Fran, you know so much."

"It is not a problem." Fran stood up, walking over to a tent, which I assumed was the girl tent. "Not too much longer out here. We shall leave at dawn to get through the rest of the Salikawood, and then we shall, as Vaan declaims it, have our break day."

"I think everyone needs a little break, Fran. Even you." Fran stood there for a bit, then entered the tent. So, it was just me outside…until someone else came out to pay me a little visit. Ashe.

"Legend," She said. I turned around and looked at her. "Do you think we have enough time to…converse?" I blinked a few times before nodding my head. She walked over and sat beside me.

"What's up?" I asked. Ashe looked up at the sky.

"Nothing is up, why do you ask?"

"Oh…it just means 'what's wrong?' or 'what's troubling you?'" I stated. I'd better say that now before everyone else starts looking up at the sky randomly, like Basch in Barheim Passage.

"Well, what is troubling me is all the wrong I have done to you." Ashe sighed.

"Wrong?" I asked her.

"I have said some things that were taken as offensive. I pledge to never insult you again." Ashe put her hand on her chest. "After what happened at the Stilshrine with the Esper…and that situation with Judge Bergan…I recognized your true power. You're not just a girl with an energetic behavior…although you lack in some forms of charisma, I wish I had taken back some of the insults I spat at you."

"No worries." I smiled. "And sorry for all the mean, senseless crap I said to you, too."

"So…will our vows be kept?"

"Our vows shalt be kept." I spoke like Shakespeare. For a small moment, I saw Ashe try to stifle a laugh.

"I guess having some life to the party emphasizes…fun." Ashe smiled at me. I nodded my head. We stared at the fire together.

"Ashe," I said. She looked down at me. "Sorry I keep taking the spotlight from you sometimes."

"Spotlight?"

"You're very important. I mean, you're a PRINCESS. You're a descendant from Raithwall himself…but I was kind of chosen from Raithwall, so it sometimes looks like we're on the same wavelength. But I'm not the one who has to rule Dalmasca. I'm not the one who has to save Dalmasca. That is _your_ job…but because I'm the Legend, it sometimes looks as if I'm the one who deserves the trophy. It looks like I'm the one who will be queen of Dalmasca, which I don't deserve just because I know a lot about Ivalice and I summon big monsters." I turned to Ashe and looked at her deep in the eyes. "I may be apart of Raithwall like you, but I'm not the one who deserves any of the praises."

"Fuu," She said. "I will be sure to give some praise to you." I smiled at this.

"Thanks Ashe." Suddenly, I felt really drowsy and sleepy, despite having being sleeping since I passed out at Mt. Bur-Omisace, I felt my eyelids quiver, trying to stay awake. I failed at keeping them open, and I felt my head go on Ashe's shoulder as I was slowly drifting off into a sleep.

"That's it, Fuu," I heard her say. "Go to sleep. Tomorrow we'll have a rest from our mission and just enjoy ourselves."

_**TO BE CONTINUED IN CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO!!**_

_**Guess what? Delfenynn is NOT an original character in Final Fantasy XII. I made her up, so she's MY OC.**_

_**Guess what else? Her name is pronounced DELPHA-NIN, in case you wanted to know that. I'm pretty good with making up old-time-sounding names, like Garbuden!**_

_**Yeah. I hope you didn't fall asleep during Fran's story, but I hope you got it. If you're still confused about Delfenynn and how she connects to Fuu, just re-read it a couple of times, you'll get it eventually. **_

_**Okay, see ya! Buh-bye!**_


	22. The Phon Coast

_Fuu: Oh my goodness! Hello, fellow readers!_

_Fini: Sorry for the slow update! Call it laziness!_

_Fuu: Well, now that we've decided to get this story back on track, we shall proceed with this chapter's DISCLAIMER! But who's going to say it this time, hmm?_

_The Soldiers from Chapter One: US!!!!!_

_Fuu: Okay! Go for it, guys!_

_Soldiers: Fuu DOES NOT OWN Final Fantasy XII. This all includes the plot, settings, and characters. Fuu only owns Fini, Yuko, Misa, Jude, Rozaline, and herself…as well as minor characters like Hiroyuki and Garbuden._

_Garbuden: Minor? More like the shi—_

_Fuu: Okay, settle down, Garbuden…let's move on to chapter 22!_

**Going into Ivalice**

**Chapter 22: The Phon Coast**

"Wakey-wakey, Fuu." Fini's squeaky voice rang in my ear. I mumbled a bit before opening my eyes. Fini's little face was looking down on me, her long brown hair nearly getting into my eyes. "If you don't get up, you're gonna miss the beach!"

I continued to lie there, looking at Fini with tired, sandman-attacked eyes. I groaned a bit again as I tossed the blanket over my head, shoving Fini away from the premise.

"Another half hour maybe?" I mumbled.

"Half hour? But it's the beach!" Fini hissed through gritted teeth.

"But what if I wanna sleep? What if I don't wanna go to the—…" Wait a second. Wait just a darn second. Did Fini just say…? "THE BEACH?" I sat up, a small gust from my sudden uprising causing Fini to fly backwards a few feet.

"Uh, duh!" Fini said, regaining her balance in mid-air. "We're all going to go to the Phon Coast today. We're going to spend the entire day there…it's our 'break day'. Remember now, smart one?"

"I just did!" I got up, putting on my jacket (I slept in my cami, because the Salikawood was a pretty toasty place) and started to brush my teeth.

"We're not leaving in another ten minutes, but it's best to get up on the bright." Fini yawned. Even through all of her energy, even game guardians need more naptime I guess.

"Can you get some others to help pack up the tents? I have some room in my backpack still." I said, a small amount of toothpaste in my mouth before I spat it out the east flap (There are four "flaps" in the tent, one is a door, and the other three are like windows where you can just barely put your head outside of. We used those as our sinks. Aren't we sanitary?) I arranged my hair, my clothes, and fixed my choker. Sheesh, for my favorite choker, it has seen quite some action during this adventure in Ivalice. It was less of a choker and was more like an actual necklace because of how worn out the string has gotten. I felt satisfied with my appearance, and not long after, Yuko and Penelo entered the tent.

"We'll help you pack up the beds and everything." Penelo said.

"Thanks guys." I said. I got down on my knees and began rolling up the sleeping bags (which were quite comfy). After I got done with Ashe's, and mine I looked over to see Yuko was having difficulties with her sleeping bag. "Here, let me help—." I stopped. I looked at Yuko's face…she had a thin gash across her right cheek, a little smeared with dried blood. I suddenly remembered yesterday, where the guards were beating her. I swallowed when I saw the slightly frustrated look in her eyes.

"Yes please." She said quietly, noticing that she gave me a startling look. I went down on my knees and began rolling up her sleeping bag. "Fuu-chan, thank you for saving me yesterday." She said after a pause. I smiled lightly.

"Those guys were asses. But forget about yesterday, Yuko," I stood up, touching her shoulders. I smiled. "Today's the beach! We're going to have so much fun today, I assure you!" Yuko smiled and hugged me.

"I think so, too!"

"Three minutes!" Vaan called out.

"Okay!" Penelo called back outside of the tent. "Let's wrap this thing up, Fuu."

"Okay! Like THIS!" I kicked one of the poles of the tent, where the entire thing collapsed on top of us.

"I meant…when we were outside…"

"Oh…sorry about that." I giggled nervously. I thought I heard Fini mumble a 'dumbass' while we were finding the door to the tent…

…………………

"Now that the tents are all packed," Jude said as we all gathered outside. "We'll head out."

"Since when did you become leader?" I sneered.

"Since I joined your little party of pipsqueaks, Butch." Jude smirked.

"Butch? What kind of a name is that for me?" I growled.

"Since you proved me wrong yesterday when you killed that creepy judge. You're pretty tough, girly, so your new name is Butch."

"Please don't. That just doesn't sound right at all." I groaned. Fini and Misa were cracking up, and even Yuko was giggling at this nickname I didn't want to own. I growled again, then after a few seconds, I exhaled. "Fine. Whatever. As long as it has some sort of positive meaning to it, I'll deal with it."

"Sure thing, Butch." Jude and Rozaline said in perfect unison, walking away in a snickering frenzy. I was ready to lift up the middle finger, but I felt someone approaching me from behind. I turned around to look up at Balthier. When I saw his face, I thought he was going to look worried and start making me cry again, like what he did after the whole Mateus situation in the Stilshrine of Miriam…but to my surprise, he was all smiles.

"I wasn't thrilled for this 'break day' to be truthful, but as long as you'll have fun, I might find some exuberance in it as well." He smiled at me. I giggled.

"Well, as long as it makes you happy." I grinned. He gave me the oh-so-gorgeous crooked smile and walked past me, grabbing my head and ruffling it a bit. I giggled during this process, feeling his strong and slightly callused fingers lightly scratching my head. It felt like I was the cat to an extremely affectionate owner (Like my English teacher who gets mad if you ask how many cats she has! Hahaha.) I stood there, silently sighing in bliss.

"Let's go, Fuu! Come on!" Yuko said enthusiastically, pushing my butt with her tiny little hands.

"Right, sorry!" I apologized. I started walking with everyone else, putting my backpack on nice and snug. We began our walk through the Salikawood to the Phon Coast!

"Fuu!" Vaan ran up, nearly tackling me. "The walk is gonna be a little long, do you have any new games for us to play?"

"More games, huh?" I let out a little 'hmm' as I stroked my chin, thinking of good games for people in Ivalice. Obviously, guess the song wasn't going to be very good, because 100% of Ivalice citizens wouldn't recognize the tune to "Single Ladies" by Beyonce. What should we play? "Honestly, Vaan, is your life all about playing games?"

"Not at all! Penelo and I are really bored, and we need something to occupy the time!"

"Since when was _I_ involved in the situation, Vaan?" Penelo chimed in.

"Ooh, I got a good game!" I exclaimed excitedly. "We can play questions!"

"Questions? What kind of a game is that?" Penelo asked.

"It's pretty easy. I give you guys a situation and you are two different people. You ask each other questions, and you have to keep the conversation going with questions only. If you answer or if you don't know how to answer YOU'RE OUT! And then the next person takes the place of the other person until I decide to change the situation."

"I'm playing." Jude popped up. "I played this game with my girlfriend all the time."

"Okay, Jude if you want to—whoa! Jude, you have a girlfriend?" I suddenly questioned. Jude was good-looking, that's for certain, but I never imagined him having a girlfriend!

"Yup. Her name's Lena." Jude rummaged through his pants pocket, where he pulled out a small photograph (the kind in those picture booths where you make funny faces) and handed it to me. In the picture was a fairly happy looking Jude (with shorter hair) and a girl who was smiling twice as big as him. She had long, blonde hair that was a bit wavy with perfect side bangs. They actually made an adorable couple…

"Ooh, you lucky little boy!" I teased.

"We've been together since the 8th grade. I'm a junior in high school at the moment." He took the picture back, slightly embarrassed with my comment, and shoved it back in his pants pocket. "She may look like a typical girly girl, but she's really quite the dork. She actually introduced me to Final Fantasy XII." He whispered the last sentence to me.

"Wow, really?" I was stunned. So, if it weren't for Lena, Jude and Rozaline wouldn't really be here in our party.

"Grr!" Rozaline growled. "Are we going to play this damn game or not? Quit blabbing about these teenage romances and get on with the game already!"

"Jealous." Misa coughed.

"I heard that, jerk." Rozaline hissed at her fellow game guardian.

"Okay, let's play." I cleared my throat. "Vaan and Jude. You guys are in Rabanastre in Migelo's Sundries. Vaan, you're Migelo. Jude, you're the customer. Jude you're buying stuff and you don't have enough money. A feud starts. Go!"

"Sir, can you give me the right amount?" Vaan played. His voice of Migelo was disturbingly good, and Penelo and I nearly peed my pants for laughing so hard. Even Yuko and the game guardians were giggling.

"Did you forget to pull the stick out this morning?" Jude smirked.

"Ohh, snap!" I laughed.

"What are you talking about?"

"Can I just buy these items?"

"Would you put something away so you can have enough to pay me?"

"Why would I do that?"

"Why wouldn't you?"

It went on like this for about fifteen minutes before Vaan accidentally answered. We continued playing for a good hour or so, and it was a true success. We even got Ashe and Basch to play in at one point, although they didn't find it quite as amusing as the rest of us. We continued to laugh (Jude was even laughing…hard!) and we didn't even realize that we stepped onto white sand. I looked down and saw the sand sink into the bottom of my sneaker. I gasped happily, looking up to see what I've been wanting to see for a little while…

Blue seas…blue skies…palm trees…sand…sunny skies…

The Phon Coast!

"Race you to the water!" Penelo said to Vaan, where they dashed off further on the beach.

"Wow! This place is so…dazzling!" Yuko exclaimed.

"What are we waiting for?" Fini asked. "Let's get in the water!"

"I won't fail your task, Fini!" I pumped a fist into the air and began to take off, until Rozaline grabbed onto my hood, dragging me backwards a bit. "Hey, what are you doing?"

"How old are you, really?" Rozaline scolded. "Act like a proper, mannerly person and stay here. Go on the path to adulthood instead of acting like you are nothing more than a toddler, like Yuko-chan here." Yuko puffed out her cheeks and glared at the blonde game guardian. "Act like Jude, for a grand example. Isn't that right, Jud—," She glanced over, where Jude was once standing, and then saw that Jude had taken off with Vaan and Penelo. He also wasn't afraid to take off his jeans, where he was now in his red and blue plaid boxers.

"I think I know how he got the girlfriend." Yuko said.

"YOU'RE FIVE YEARS OLD! HOW DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THAT?" Misa exclaimed.

"What were you saying about the path to adulthood like Jude, Rozaline?" I snickered, looking at Rozaline's speechless expression. I immediately ran off, Yuko's hand in my own, and we ran into the water. I took off my jacket and rolled up my jeans to my knees, tossing my jacket on top of Jude's jeans (and T-shirt, which I did not see him remove). I felt the coldness of the water on my feet and ankles, and it took me a while before I gained courage to step further into the water.

"Isn't it pretty, Yuko?" I looked behind to look at Yuko, who was still on shore, who was in the process of removing her long-sleeved shirt! "Yuko! Keep that on!" I ran up to her and pulled down the shirt before it went above her belly button. She gave me a quizzical stare that lasted for about a good ten seconds. "Here, just do this." I took her little arms to take out of her sleeves, and with that, I tied the sleeves in a little bow behind her back. And now her shirt looked like a strapless dress good for swimming!

"Thanks Fuu-chan!" She giggled happily and ran into the water. Misa and Fini hovered close above her, incase anything bad would happen. I was ready to get back in the water where I saw Balthier out of the corner of my eye. He was talking to Ashe…

This was when he was talking about his insane father, Dr. Cid.

I stood there, my jealousy biting me in the butt again. Ashe looked like she was listening intently to Balthier's somber tale, and how I wanted to be in her place…to comfort him…to help him stand tall and tough through his crappy past…I found myself completely ignoring the crystal-like waters and found myself standing in total gloom, looking Balthier talk to Ashe.

"It's apart of the story." I whispered to myself. "It's not like they're in love or anything, right?" I folded my arms and tried to think positive, but the positive feeling never showed up. I then found myself unfolding my arms and sitting down on the sand. I grabbed my knees and cradled them to my chest as I stared at my feet. A small gust of wind blew on my nearly bare back, where it tingled and gave me goosebumps…but in the two spots I felt intense pain back in the Stilshrine…as the wind blew, one part of my back felt heated as the other dot felt chilled. Belias was obviously the heated spot as Mateus was the chilled. I wanted to see my marking again. It would distract me from my gloom, right? I walked up to the water so my reflection was showing. I kneeled down on my knees and turned my head as far as I could to see the reflection of my back. I actually managed a couple of glimpses. The marking, which looked more like a large tattoo, now had two circles out of 13 filled in. One was a deep red and the other was a light blue. 2 Espers out of 13…

"Fascinating, no?"

That voice.

I turned my head forwards again and saw Balthier looking at me with a cocked eyebrow. I giggled a bit; quite embarrassed that Balthier caught an image of me in such an odd position. I stood up, my neck aching a bit from all that stretching, and stared into his chocolate brown eyes.

"Can I show you something?" He asked in a smooth tone.

"I uh-uh-uh what?" I stuttered. The tone he used made it sound extremely dirty. He raised another eyebrow at my stutters.

"Here. In the water…come with me." He made a hand gesture and I immediately followed him. He walked through a shallow part of the water, looking in as if he were searching for something. I looked in the water too, but I had no idea what I was supposed to be looking for. "Ah." I heard him say. He then bent down and scooped his hand in the water, grabbing a handful of wet, sloppy sand. He carefully let the wet sand drop in the water until he uncovered something glimmering in his palm. I peeked over to get a better view, where I saw what he had found in the sand. It was a white stone. But this wasn't just a normal white stone; this stone was smoother than a pearl and shined like a diamond. It was probably the prettiest thing I have ever seen.

"Balthier…it's gorgeous." I said, awestruck.

"I need help finding more. If you think this one is tantalizing, just wait until you see other ones." He smiled, tossing it lightly to me, where I clumsily caught it with both hands. "You think you can collect as many as you can hold."

"I will certainly try!" I beamed. He gave me a smile as he walked away, leaving me on my knees, already trying to find more of those stones. I probably spent almost four hours looking for them, and I found a TON. There were so many colors. There were black ones that had a gorgeous rainbow reflection that shined off of them, and yellow ones with gold speckles that shined like pure crystal. I gathered so many, and I couldn't decide which one was the prettiest. I put them in my backpack and I finally had enough of bending down and reaching my hand in wet, sloppy sand.

"A Clarity stone." Penelo came up to me.

"Is that what they're called?" I held up the one I had, which was an emerald color with light blue, glistening lines in it.

"Yeah. It's been years since I've beaded one."

"Beaded? Like making bracelets and stuff?"

"Yeah. When Vaan was practically a girl, we made some for each other all the time. We had to sell them all to have enough money for food, though. But if a group of close friends has a clarity stone, it supports the friendship and brings strength and peace to the group of friends."

"Oh, like a good luck charm on steroids." I added.

"I…guess so."

"Tell me, Penelo," I wondered. "Do you still know how to bead them?"

"Yeah. It's not that hard, really." Penelo replied. "You just need a thin knife to make a hole and then put the string through and then there you have it."

"I have an idea, Penelo!" I said with a smile on my face.

…………………………

It was sunset, and we set up our tents to stay the night. We built a campfire and we all sat around it, eating a meal of some kind of meat that tasted like pork-off-the-bone dipped in a lemon juice. We just sat there for a while, and that's when I gave Penelo a little nod.

"Hey guys!" Penelo exclaimed. "Look at what Fuu and I made for everyone." Penelo got out a little bag and dropped the necklaces we made in her hand. They were made from Penelo's skills and the Clarity stones. "There's one for everyone."

"Vaan." Penelo tossed a dark blue one with silver speckles over to Vaan, who caught it with ease. He glanced at it, placing it in front of him to see the shimmering of the stone from the flames of the fire.

"Ashe." She tossed a pink one with white streams to Ashe, who also caught it. She smiled gently, putting it around her neck.

"Thank you."

"Basch." We tossed him a light green one with gold streams in it, and he caught it nicely as well.

"I give my thanks to your giving."

"Balthier." Penelo held up an amber-colored Clarity stone with gold streams all around it. I picked that one out especially for him, because it just felt so much like him. He caught it and had his amazing crooked smile across his face.

"Fran." She held up a gray stone with purple speckles and tossed it to Fran, who caught it with one hand. She said nothing, but put it around her neck in joy.

"Jude." His was white with black speckles, like a Dalmatian, and he caught it too. He smirked and put it around his neck. I took that as a 'thanks'.

"Yuko." She handed Yuko hers (since she was sitting right next to Penelo), which was red with orange streams, which looked similar to her over-sized long-sleeved shirt. She took it, beaming.

"Thank you very much!" She did not hesitate putting it around her neck.

"I made you guys some, too," I whispered to Misa, Rozaline, and Fini. Fini's was light blue with green streams. Misa's was turquoise with black and white speckles. Rozaline's was red with gold and white streams.

"But what about yours, Fuu?" Vaan asked, putting his necklace around his neck.

"Oh. I didn't make one for myself."

"But why not?" Yuko asked, a bit saddened…

"That's because I made one." Balthier spoke up. I gasped silently to myself and looked up, where he was rummaging through his pocket and pulled out something glistening. He tossed it over to me, where I managed to catch it quite gracefully this time. I opened my hands to see the Clarity stone necklace Balthier made for me…and my gosh, it was prettier than the one he found earlier. It was pure white, a bit more oval as the others were more circular shaped, with thin, rainbow streams going across in various places of the stone. But there were also little silver speckles in other parts of the stone, making this thing glisten a rainbow like none other.

"Balthier." I said breathlessly. It was definitely the prettiest thing ever. "I don't know what to say." I almost wanted to cry because he picked such a gorgeous stone.

"Here." He stood up and walked over to the shore. He motioned for me to follow him, where I looked at everyone surrounding the fire.

"Uhhh…shall we head to bed?" Penelo stood up.

"But its only sunset." Yuko whined.

"We have a big day tomorrow." Ashe stated.

I giggled quietly to myself as I then followed Balthier, who was still walking to the shore. I jogged to catch up with him, and when he stopped, I was now standing directly in front of him.

"I didn't add the string yet." He said. I handed him the stone while he pulled out the small, durable string from his pocket. "Beading was never my kind of activity to partake in when I was a child, but I decided to try it just this once."

"You didn't have to." I said softly. He looked up at me and smiled gently.

"The Clarity stones only work if _everyone_ has one. If you didn't have one, then Penelo's beading would've been a waste of time and sweat."

"I guess you're right." I watched as Balthier slowly put the string through the small hole until it as perfectly in the center, hanging in the glimmer of the sunset. The colors shined off and nearly blinded me, but it was beautiful. He walked a little closer and tied the string around my neck in a good couple of knots. His fingers tickled the back of my neck in the process, and I looked up to see our faces were only inches away. He didn't look in my eyes, though. I stared up at his perfect face, and after he was done tying, he looked down at me. I looked down and noticed my choker was still on, so carefully, I removed it. So now, the stone was the only thing above my chest. I shoved the choker in my pocket and looked up.

"Thank you, Balthier." I smiled. He smiled down at me, staring at me for a bit, until the unimaginable happened next…

He lightly grabbed my chin and pressed his lips against my own.

My first kiss…with the man I never imagined would be in existence…

_TO BE CONTINUED IN CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE!_

_OHEMGEEEEEEE! YESSSSS! I HAD THIS CHAPTER WRITTEN ABOUT A DOZEN TIMES, BUT AFTER WRITING IT SO MANY TIMES, THIS CAME OUT AMAZINGLY!! And the kiss scene…that was just steamy right there. Yeah, I know Balthier is 22 and Fuu is 14…but can't they get a little love, hmm?_

_Please review!_

_BYE!_


	23. Fools Fall First

_Fuu: Hello readers! Here's chapter 23 to Going into Ivalice!_

_Rozaline: Fuu, what about the announcement you were supposed to make?_

_Fuu: Oh, yes! Of course! But…here it is. It's not much of an announcement, but more of a 'thanks' thing. I want to thank all of my reviewers and everyone who has been reading my story. It is still my favorite fanfic of ALL OF MY FANFICS to write, and I love reading your comments. It makes my day so much better and it gives me more motivation to continue my writing to please you readers. I hope I can keep this story going until the very end and you keep reading and reviewing it, too! _

_Rozaline: How touching…_

_Fuu: That sure sounded believable, Rozaline…_

_Rozaline: But who will say this chapter's disclaimer, might I ask?_

_Drace: Me._

_Fuu: You haven't even been in the story, Drace! Besides…are you…dead?_

_Drace: Yes._

_Fuu: So I'm talking to a ghost?_

_Drace: Yes._

_Fuu: …okay…spooky…_

_Rozaline: Disclaimer please?_

_Drace: Certainly. Fuu does NOT own Final Fantasy XII. This all includes plots, characters and settings. The only characters she owns are Fini, Yuko, Misa, Jude, Rozaline, and herself…as well as some of the more minor characters, such as Hiroyuki, Garbuden, and Delfenynn…_

_Garbuden: Like I said before, I am no minor! I am the shi—!_

_Fuu: CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE!_

**Going into Ivalice**

**Chapter 23: Fools Fall Fast**

I couldn't believe what was happening. Was it true? Was I dreaming? If I was, God, if anyone wakes me up, I will punch them in the face! But the emotions going through my mind and this mysterious adrenaline going through my veins were too realistic for this all to be a dream…this was definitely real, it had to be.

Balthier was actually kissing me.

This was my first kiss, so I had no idea what to do for the first few seconds. I just went on and shut my eyes, letting him take me in. His lips were soft…tender…perfect. If I gave my first kiss a score out of ten, this would most definitely be an eleven. The kiss lasted about ten seconds (my mind was dazed in and out of shock, so this is just a guesstimate) before he finally let go. I slowly opened my eyes and looked into his. He looked down at me, studying my eyes…no smile on his face or anything…just a very observant stare.

"I…knew it." I heard myself whisper. "I knew it! I knew you had feelings for me!" I now found myself yelling exuberantly, throwing my arms around him and hugging him tight. Instead of returning the embrace, Balthier stood perfectly still. His arms didn't wrap around me or anything…he was completely motionless.

"Feelings?" He finally asked. "I believe you are mistaken."

Mistaken…?

Slowly, my arms let go, and I slowly backed away a few steps. I looked into his face, where a serious but neutral expression was painted on his face.

"Why do you sound so…unsure of yourself?" I asked slowly, my heart practically in my throat now.

"This is no uncertainty I am encountering," Balthier stated. "Think of that experience as a…an experiment."

"Experiment?" I repeated. "What do you mean by that?"

"I wanted to…" Balthier cleared his throat. "See your display of feedback…and the outcome was most unpredicted." I stood there, knees quivering, absorbing his words in slowly. Balthier…no…did he only kiss me so he could see how I reacted? No…that couldn't be it! Was he the type of guy to do that to a poor girl?

"You…you just wanted to have a little experiment when I was the pathetic little test subject?" I asked, a tone of rage developing in my voice. "Are you…kidding me?"

"Please do not let this displease you." Balthier went to touch my shoulder, but I smacked his hand away.

"You JERK!" I suddenly shouted. "You can't just do that to a girl! You can't just randomly kiss them and see what happens! Especially when you _don't even love them_!" I was then aware that hot tears were spilling down my cheeks.

"Love?" Balthier was still quite calm even through my shouting and tears. "As if anyone actually believes in a fantasy like love."

"Oh, that just makes it better then!" I continued to yell, pointing an angry finger at him, my face firing up in the heat of fury. "You don't even believe in love, so you're too dense to even know the true meaning of it!"

"And what do you know about love?" Balthier asked, a strictness forming in his voice now. "You're just a child. You know so little."

"A child, huh?" I screamed. "So you had the nerve to _kiss_ one…especially when you also know so little about love?" I sobbed a bit. His eyes softened a bit, but his mouth stayed firm. Another sob escaped my lips and I turned around to run off, but I felt a hand clutch around my wrist. This caused me to lose some balance, and after a squeak of surprise, I fell onto the dry, white sand of the shore. He still clenched onto my wrist as I lay there, sobbing like crazy.

"Why does this affect you so vastly?" Balthier asked after a long pause. I continued to weep a bit, as I was trying to think of the appropriate answer.

"Because a kiss is supposed to mean something." I responded. "A kiss is supposed to be a definition of love…and I just used my first kiss on someone who doesn't even believe in love. Isn't that…awful?"

There was another pause, this pause much longer than the last one, and I continued to lie in the sand…heart-broken and trapped in a world of melancholy and betrayal. Balthier never let go of my wrist, and it was throbbing a bit because of how hard he was still clutching onto it.

"Forgive me." He finally whispered. "I am sorry…but I…" He suddenly let go and walked away, not even finishing his sentence. I was still laying there, tears still stained on my face.

"Jerk…" I muttered. "What a…jerk!"

"Fuu?" Said someone behind me. I turned around to see Jude staring down at me, with Rozaline neatly perched on his right shoulder. He was a bit stunned to see me crying…even Rozaline seemed a little surprised.

"Hey. Are you okay?" Rozaline asked.

"Oh, yes, because these tears represent utter joy." I hissed sarcastically. Rozaline opened her mouth to snap back at me, but she somehow managed to stop herself from doing so.

"No need to get testy." Jude exclaimed. He bent down on one knee and looked at me. "Now tell me, what's wrong?"

"That is not your concern." I said, finally standing up after lying in the sand for so long.

"Well, it is now, so explain." Jude stood up too; grabbing my shoulders and making me stare into his eyes. I was sick of making eye contact with all of these guys, so I looked down and pushed his arms aside.

"If I explain, you'll think it's completely stupid." I mumbled.

"So you're crying over something that's supposed to be 'completely stupid'?"

Touché.

"Well, before I explain," I swallowed a bit. "Do you love Lena?" Jude's face softened after I asked him this question. After a few seconds, his famous little smirk appeared across his mouth.

"We're happy together. I make her laugh and vice versa…we tell each other anything…we always know how to have a good time with each other…and every single time I see her, my heart just beats like a freaking drum…" He looked at me. "So, I think you know the answer to your question."

"When did you guys…first kiss?" I suddenly began to ask.

"Oh, I'll never forget that day." He chuckled a bit. "We were at a bonfire party, and there was a barn where our friends and me danced in. There was a room where we began talking, and she said that she had never kissed a guy before. I said 'well, now you can say that you did'. Right then, we kissed." (A/N This was actually technically my first kiss. I just used mine for Jude's first kiss with his girlfriend!) I found myself chuckling at this…I couldn't picture Jude being such a softie at all.

"How precious." I giggled.

"Don't you mean barf-worthy?" Rozaline chimed in with disgust.

"Zip it, Roz," Jude snapped. Rozaline folded her arms and puffed out her cheeks like an angry child. "So Fuu, why are you asking me these questions? What happened, did you get kissed or something?"

"No!" I lied. "Why would you think that?"

"You _were_ with Mr. Dream-Boy." Jude smirked again. Of course he was talking about Balthier. "I can picture a kiss scene…right during a sunset, too. That guy knows the right timing to everything—."

"Are you deaf? I just said that nothing happened like that! Sheesh!" I continued to lie.

"Well," Jude chuckled once more. "I think we should head to our tents now. We've gotta get to Draklor, remember?"

"How could I ever forget?" I exhaled. "Thanks for answering my questions, Jude."

"No problem, Butch." I cringed at the nickname.

"Rozaline, cheer up."

"Hmph, says you." She grumbled. Jude sighed and walked away to enter the guys' tent. I sniffed a bit, trying to calm my face down so the girls' wouldn't see that I had been crying. I walked over to the tent during the process of calming down, and after a deep breath, I put on my smile and entered the tent.

"Howdy!" I grinned.

"Fuu-chan!" Yuko ran over. "Let me see it!"

"See what?" I was confused at first; until I looked down to see my Clarity stone…the stone Balthier gave to me. I pushed Balthier out of my mind and bent down so Yuko could get a better glimpse at the stone. "Here it is."

"It's so enticing." Yuko smiled. She then started to giggle a bit.

"What's so funny?" I had to ask.

"Do you think it's a token of love?" Yuko giggled even more. Immediately I felt my face heat up and all the memories of what happened moments before with Balthier slowly returned again…

"Certainly not!" I stammered.

"Oh, maybe it is, Yuko." Misa laughed along. "Just look at that tomato of a face."

"Shut up!" I continued to stammer in embarrassment.

"What's wrong, Fuu?" Penelo suddenly walked up. "Your face looks like you got some real bad sunburn."

"Oh, I wish." I exhaled.

"So what did Balthier reverse to you about?" Ashe wondered. I knew she was going to ask me…that princess sure loves to know the details sometimes.

"Oh, he just told me that…we were…uh." Think, Fuu. What do you say on the spot? Sure, you're no improviser, but can't you just think of some sort of story that sounds a bit believable? "Good friends."

"That's it?" Yuko's smile faded in a slight disappointment.

"I have to agree with Yuko," Ashe tried to push away a smile. "Curiosity was getting the best of me. I wanted something a bit more exciting than a friendship speech."

"Ashe! Even you were expecting something…more than friends-ish?" My face never halts on the heating up.

"If that's the title you give it."

I looked over at Fran, who was the only one who was not listening to the conversation. She did look at me, but gave me a look that meant, "I'm not apart of this, don't even look at me, woman." I turned back to Yuko, Ashe, and Penelo as they all grinned.

"C'est l'amour!" Fini giggled.

"Le français n'aide pas!" I shouted back at Fini.

"Um?" Penelo questioned. "What was that?"

"Oh…" I completely forgot that only Yuko, Jude, and myself could see game guardians, and me speaking French to Fini looked like me speaking French out of the blue in the eyes of Penelo, Ashe, and Fran. "Nothing. We should probably head to bed now."

"Sounds like a plan." Penelo nodded her head. Ashe and Fran agreed to this and went to their sleeping bags (although it was actually hotter than the Salikawood, so we just slept on top of the bags rather than in them.) "Sleep well, everyone."

"Will do." I said.

"Goodnight." Yuko yawned, plopping on her sleeping bag.

And with that, the lanterns blew out, and we all shut our eyes…

……………………………

"_**Master."**_

_Mateus?_

_I opened my eyes, where I found myself in an area surrounded by darkness. There were twelve symbols surrounding me, and two of the symbols were Belias and Mateus, standing there, looking at me. I blinked a few times._

"_Where am I?"_

"_This is the imaginary world Delfenynn wanted to complete." A familiar, elderly voice said behind me. I turned around to see none other than Raithwall, the Dynast-King. He placed a hand on my shoulder (I never noticed until now that he likes to do that a lot) and smiled at me gently. "Do not be afraid. This is not an actual setting, so _he_ cannot be awakened yet."_

_"He who?" I blinked. Raithwall looked down, and I took that as a sign to look down, too. Beneath me was a HUGE, silver symbol. As I looked close at each symbol that was empty, I started to recognize them… "These are the Espers…so this big one I'm standing on must be…"_

"_Zodiark, Keeper of Precepts." Raithwall answered for me._

"_No way." I said breathlessly. Now, to be honest with you all, out of the hundreds of time I played Final Fantasy XII, I have never obtained the final Esper. Call me a chicken, but I was scared to even fight him. He was the most powerful Esper out of them all, and it just felt like having him was too much to ask for. "This is what Delfenynn wanted in her experiment, right? To summon Zodiark?"_

"_Correct." Raithwall said. "Delfenynn wanted to seek such a great power, and she sought Zodiark. We all feared that if she had this incredible beast in the palm of her hand, she would bring destruction to Ivalice."_

"_Would she really do that? Was she that obsessed?"_

"_Yes. She sought so much power in her exploration of the Espers that it was taking over her sanity." _

"_Ouch." I looked over at Belias and Mateus. "So is that all you guys called me for?"_

"_**That is not all."**__ Belias said. "__**We have summoned you in this imaginary scenery to tell you about your powers."**_

"_My powers?"_

"_You are over-exerting yourself with your fury." Raithwall told me. "You killed a Judge."_

"_I know that, but he deserved to die. He killed Anastasis." I suddenly remembered Bergan…what a creep._

"_I know he commited many wrong deeds, but your rage went into overdrive and killed him. You must learn to control your powers, or else Delfenynn will take over your sanity. If that happens…who knows?"_

"_Oh. Sorry. It won't ever happen again." I apologized. "But if it does, then forgive me."_

"_Delfenynn does not take things lightly. She _will_ harm you if you overexert your powers…and not just in the physical sector." Raithwall looked into my eyes. _

"_Hey, Raithwall, I have a quick question." I suddenly remembered something. "Why did you want to marry Delfenynn? I understand you two married so you guys could work together and complete all sorts of cool crap…but it wasn't ever out of love?"_

"_No." Raithwall answered me quickly. "Love was something I did not think about…Delfenynn was the same way. Delfenynn agreed that if we took our hands into marriage, we would discover secrets about each other's abilities…and our blood."_

"_I see." I exhaled. Even people like the Dynast-King didn't pay any mind to love…that just made my situation with Balthier a whole lot crappier. I shook my head. "Anything else, chief?"_

"_That is all." Raithwall gave me a kindly smile. "Now…it's almost time to wake up…you must head to Draklor." _

"_And face off with Dr. Cid, right?" I smirked. "No problem."_

"_Good luck, Fuu." He said. "We are all counting on you."_

"_**Keep out for more Espers, as well." **__Mateus added. I nodded my head and watched as everything around me vanished. Suddenly, I felt my own body kind of drift away…_

………………………

And then morning came.

..........................

_To be continued in chapter 24!_

_Holy POOP! I finally updated! I'm gonna be stuck in my house all day, so I'm going to get started on the next chapter after this is updated, so there won't be much of a wait…hopefully…maybe…yeah…bye!_

_-da Panda_


	24. Juliet and her Romeo

_Fuu: HEY READERS! Here is chapter 24! Yay!_

_Misa: Fuu…I've been meaning to say this for a while now…but…_

_Fuu: Yes?_

_Misa: You should get your own talk show someday._

_Yuko: The Fuu-chan Show?_

_Vaan: A talk show?_

_Fuu: OMG! GENIUSSSS! People would write down a random topic on a piece of paper, put in a hat, and I pull out a topic and talk about it for a good ten minutes or something! SAWEET!_

_Yuko: EPIC!_

_Misa: Agreed!_

_Vaan: This sounds like trouble…_

_Fuu: Everyone write down the first thing that comes in your mind…and after each chapter, I'll have my mini talk show! YES!_

_(Characters begin writing on pieces of paper and place them in a top hat)_

_Vaan: Now that that's been settled, who is going to say the disclaimer this time?_

_Havharo: I shall. Fuu does not own Final Fantasy XII. This all includes the characters, settings, and plots. The only people Fuu owns is Fini, Yuko, Misa, Jude, Rozaline, Garbuden, Hiroyuki, Lena, Delfenynn, and herself._

_Fuu: Haha. I like how all the OC's have been quadrupe-li-plied since the very beginning…even the ones who haven't ever appeared, like Hiroyuki and Lena…_

_Vaan: All right then. On with chapter 24!_

**Going into Ivalice**

**Chapter 24: Juliet and her Romeo**

"Good morning." Ashe was sitting next to me, pouring this deep orange liquid that tasted very similar to raspberries into a small wooden cup. I groaned as I sat up, and I stretched my arms out.

"It's still pretty dark out." I rubbed my eyes. "What time is it?" I pulled out my phone and looked. 4:57 in the morning. I groaned even louder this time and slumped onto my pillow. "A little longer maybe?"

"We have had enough rest." Ashe sighed. "It is time to wake up, Fuu."

"Fine, fine." I sat up again and grabbed my backpack, rummaging for my toothbrush and makeup. "But don't blame me if I'm a little too cranky today. A Legend of the Dynast-King loves her beauty sleep, y'know."

"I figured from the way you were snoring at a rather high volume." Ashe stifled a chuckle or two.

"Wow…" I flushed. "Now I'm embarrassed."

"Do not redden too much, Fuu," Ashe handed me a cup with the liquid, which I took a few sips of. "At least you got some rest." I lightly put my cup down. I then squinted my eyes and took a better look at Ashe…her eyes were droopy and her face was pale.

"Ashe, you couldn't sleep?"

"A little…but not a lot." Ashe sighed. "So much pressure has been weighing me down psychologically."

I didn't blame her. I knew Ashe was all stressed out from this whole journey. This was all a big part of her. She had Raithwall's blood in her veins, and Raithwall is relying on not only me, but her, too. I took a large gulp of my beverage, set down the cup, and touched her shoulder. She looked up at me.

"We're all pressured by this, Ashe." I gave her a tender smile. "But if we all work this out together, there will be less tension and more of that 'epic win' feeling." Ashe smiled and nodded her head, where she leaned over and actually hugged me.

"Thank you, Fuu." She said. She then let go and helped me find my mascara tube. "Now, make haste. We will leave shortly."

"Okie-dokie." I said, fluffing my face with powder and darkening my lashes with mascara. After brushing my teeth and putting on my jacket, I was ready to go. I picked up my backpack, where I saw the three game guardians still asleep in one of the side net pockets of the backpack. I decided to let them rest just a little longer as I headed out of the tent. We all pitched in to roll up the tents and the other equipment, where Penelo and Vaan stuffed it all down my backpack. Yuko, nearly asleep, walked over to me and slumped against me.

"Morning, Fuu-chan." She yawned.

"Morning? To you, it seems like 'goodnight'."

"Nuh-uh." She rubbed her eyes with her over-sized sleeves. "I'm up. See?"

"I…see." I watched as she slowly slumped over against me again, like a tree being cut down in the woods. "Hey, Basch, can you handle this one until she's fully awake?" Basch walked over and picked Yuko up in one swift move, where she was how slumping over his left shoulder, her arms wrapped around his neck.

"She's lighter than a feather. This will not bother me at all." He chuckled a bit.

"Smaller ones always need more rest somehow." Oh, crap. For the first time in my life, I did not want to hear this voice…the voice of Balthier. He walked over to us and examined Yuko's petite body slumped over on Basch. I then saw him glance at me, where I turned my head away to avoid all eye contact. I stood there like that for a while, not daring to look up and see him staring at me. "I'm surprised not even the young lady, being so young and small, has turned out like Yuko here." I still kept my head to the side.

"I dislike this uneasy silence." Basch suddenly announced after a few seconds. "Let's move out, shall we? To the Tchita Uplands?"

"Yes. Remember the plan?" Balthier cleared his throat. "We go through Tchita Uplands, take a brief, and I mean brief, rest at their camp, find this 'Sochen Cave Palace', and then after going through there, we will end up in the Imperial City of Archades. And in Archades is Draklor Laboratory." His voice…before it had pierced through my heart in a positive way…just making my heart flutter and feel like nothing could ever make it stop…but now…this new piercing was hell. It felt like my heart would sink like stone, and it was driving me mad. I bit my lower lip as I walked away, still avoiding eye contact with him.

"Let's go. Once we get moving, we'll all wake up a little faster." I said as I marched by everyone, now leading the pack. Slowly, everyone was walking behind me.

It was silent. For a long time, all we heard we the waves of the Phon Coast. I was a little bummed we were leaving, but it was fun while it lasted…well…it was fun before sunset, I should say. Stupid Balthier…ruining my perfect evening with his stupidity and his jerk-ness…he was like any other cruel guy, like the ones you would find in a high school hallway any day. I shook my head, shaking the tears away, as I dug out my iPod and put them in my ears, trying to find a song to distract me. Before I found a good song, I heard mumbling…slowly, I took out my ear buds and listened…the mumbling sounded a lot like…Misa.

I looked to the left on the side net pocket of my backpack, where Fini, Misa, and Rozaline were still asleep, and Misa was mumbling in her sleep.

"Nnnnnnnn…" She said something like this. "Geez, you're the worst gimmick ever…"

…Huh?

Rozaline woke up a bit and rubbed her eyes slowly. She then glanced over, where Misa was crawling on Rozaline!

"Hey, what the hell?" She hissed quietly.

"OM NOM NOM." Misa said, as she was ready to eat some of Rozaline's blonde hair.

"Stop that!" Rozaline hissed again and pushed Misa over to Fini's side, where Misa lay on her. Fini was startled as she woke up and looked at Misa.

"Mm…you smell like…water…" Misa smiled as she drooled a bit.

"This is what happens when she drinks Frona juice before bedtime." Fini exhaled. Frona juice was the name of the drink Ashe gave me when I woke up.

"Now I'm awake." Rozaline pouted. "She woke me up from such a wonderful dream, too!" This made me wonder what kind of dream would be wonderful to a feisty girl like Rozaline.

"Good morning, starshine," I said in a high-pitched voice. "The Earth says hello."

"Actually, Ivalice says hello." Fini rubbed her eyes.

"Whatever."

"Whom are you talking to?" I turned to my left to see Balthier now walking beside me. I gave him a scowl and turned my head away from his eyes.

"As if you'd care. Because apparently you don't care about anything anymore." I mumbled, but loud enough for him to hear. It felt so strange acting like this towards Balthier…and from what happened next, he didn't take kindly to my attitude. He roughly grabbed my shoulders and made me look into his eyes, where a menacing and angry stare was painted on his face. I cringed a bit at his eyes piercing my own with that horrible glare.

"Are you still weeping about what happened?" He hissed at me through gritted teeth. "Are you acting like that much of a child?" Everyone stopped to stare at us now. Even the game guardians looked intrigued but shocked at the same time. I wanted to let the eye contact end, but his firm grip kept me at place like a statue. Then, something inside my heart and my fury…something made me stand up and finish this tension between us…or at least I was hoping it would. I pushed away Balthier's hands from my shoulders and grabbed his shoulders now. I had to go on my tiptoes a bit, but I managed to clasp as tightly as possible. It probably looked a bit ridiculous, but I didn't care at the time. He didn't make any sudden movements when I did this, but I got some effect when I returned the glare.

"You're wrong, Balthier!" I yelled. "You're the one acting like the child!"

It was quiet. Everyone kept his or her eyes glued onto us as if we were one entertaining soap opera…and it was fairly close to one, to be honest. But I kept everyone, and the cameras, out of my mind, as I didn't dare remove my eyes from his gaze, and my hands off of his broad shoulders.

"You don't even realize it, but listen to yourself! You act like what happened was nothing! Merely nothing! But you're wrong!" I took a deep breath and saw as his face tensed a bit. I exhaled. "Look around you, Balthier." I lowered my voice volume a tad. "Look at those who are in love. They understand it, they know what it means. And it's okay if you aren't sure of the definition…I still don't know much about it, either…I'm only fourteen…but we all need lessons sometimes…but if you don't understand something…" I swallowed. "Wait for when you understand it before you try it."

There was now another staring contest that seemed everlasting. His chocolate brown eyes didn't let go of my hazel ones…no…he never wanted to let them go. It felt like an eternity…just standing there and looking at each other. Everyone kept looking at us, waiting for something to happen. I saw Fini, Misa, and Rozaline exchange nervous glances back and forth, waiting what would happen next.

"You're right."

What?

I looked at Balthier, whose face was now softened. He brought down my hands and held them.

"You're right. Forgive me." He continued delicately. "A mysterious urge had me do it. I still do not know why I decided to…kiss you." I bit my cheek as I heard everyone start murmuring away. I think I even heard Jude whisper an, "I knew it." Greeeeat. But I ignored that and kept my focus on Balthier. I smiled gently and found myself leaning against him, my hands still in his.

"I accept your apology." I whispered. I slowly felt his fingers lace into mine, and we were officially holding hands. "And whatever that urge was, the one you were talking about before…well…it really made my day, you know."

"Such a touching moment," Basch's voice interrupted the moment of fluffiness. "But we must head on to Draklor." Immediately, I let go and chuckled nervously.

"Right-o, sorry!" My face flushed bright red.

"Nevermind. Let's just keep moving forward." Ashe said as she walked ahead. One by one, everyone started to follow her. I looked up at Balthier, where he, unexpectedly, put his arm around my waist and we walked together.

"There is something I would…like to discuss with you." He said.

"Oh, really?" The heat in my face was nowhere close to cooling down. I stopped, but he pinched my waist, which was a sign that I should keep walking with him.

"I'm not entirely certain how to put this directly with you," He said. There were a few seconds of silence before he cleared his throat, bent his head down to my ear, and whispered these words into it: "May we start a…discrete bond…together?" Was I actually hearing the truth?

"You mean…like…dating?" I gasped.

"If that's what you call it in your world." He gave me the oh-so-smexy crooked smile. "Now, what do you say?"

"But…before I answer…lemme get this straight," I said. "We can't go public…at all. Right?"

"That is correct."

"What would happen if something were to…slip out…accidentally?"

"Chances are, I would not be a happy man for a bit of time."

"So…yeah…discrete, huh? Why so…secretive?"

"I don't want this to go out in the open just yet because right now, we must complete our main mission. If people knew about our secret relationship together, it would cause some…minor distractions."

"Oh, I see." I nodded my head. He bent down and brushed his lips on my cheek.

"So what do you say?" He smirked against my skin.

"Yes." I smiled. "I say yes…on one condition."

"And that condition is?" He whispered. It gave me chills.

"Just because we're secretly dating, DOESN'T MEAN ignore me all the time. Guys tend to do that…and if you do that…I'll have to dropkick you…hard." I looked into his eyes.

"I guarantee you that THAT will not ensue." He said. And with that, he lightly kissed me on the cheek and walked ahead. I slowed down my pace, my pores burning with excitement and awe. Balthier…is my boyfriend.

A twenty-two year old dating a fourteen-year-old…illegal much? But who cares in Ivalice? I mean, there aren't really any laws concerning that, are there? And besides, Balthier is a sky pirate, and he can do whatever he wants and get away with it. One of those things is going out with me. I wanted to squeal in joy, to laugh in happiness, to boogie down and do the Macarena from pure delight…but I couldn't do any of this, because we're secret lovers! I thought of this as like Romeo and Juliet…two star-crossed lovers torn apart by their families, but it did not break their love for each other…although they only knew each other for about a day when they confirmed their sexual urges as love…heehee. But anyway, it was something like that!

I then noticed that the group was way ahead of me, and I was standing there looking like a complete idiot with my thoughts in high gears. Sprinting forward, a let out a small "Yes!" to fulfill my happiness…for now!

…

It was about ten minutes since we stepped onto the Tchita Uplands, and for once, I wasn't the one running away from the monsters. I wanted to do my best to impress Balthier this time, and that did NOT mean hiding behind Basch or Fran. A wolf-like monster jumped up in front of Vaan.

"This one looks simple! I can take him—!"

"!" I leapt over Vaan leapfrog-style and struck down the wolf with my ninja sword. "Bruce Lee once said, I did not fear the man who learned ten thousand kicks at one time…but rather the man who learned one kick TEN THOUSAND TIMES! Boom-cha-cha!" Vaan gave me an indescribable stare as he probably didn't know how to react to my…er…new form of physical activity.

"Fuu, you're very…active today." Penelo said to me.

"Me? Super active?" I giggled. "Hmm…I wonder what it could be…mweh heh."

"Snake monster up ahead!" Penelo exclaimed. She got out her dagger and got in her battle stance. "I'll show you what I'm made of, just you wait—!"

"Penelo!" I shouted.

"Y-yes?"

"Say the first word that comes to your mind when I say 'epic'!"

"Why?"

"Just do it before snake-y bites you!"

"Um…okay…awesomeness?"

"AWESOMENESS SMASH!" I ran to the snake and tackled it with my own body force…and all my 90 lbs seemed to crush it with this sudden assault. It disappeared and I was awarded with a few phoenix downs. Penelo rubbed her temples and kept walking through the uplands.

After a bout another half hour, we went to the camp for our "brief rest". We scattered about as Jude went to the save crystal to replenish ourselves. I plopped myself down on a spot of grass and Yuko sat along with me, Fini and Misa resting on my shoulders.

"What's up with you, Fuu? You're energetic today." Misa said.

"She's always energetic, Misa." Fini sighed. "It's just on this particular day…she's an extra dose of energy."

"Hiroyuki-kun usually gets like this when he drinks some Monster or Red Bull…energy drinks." Yuko-chan giggled.

"Oh, it's nothing. Just a little adrenaline rush, tis all." I winked at the game guardians and five-year old. Suddenly, we saw a figure approach towards us. He was a red Bangaa with bright green pants.

"You carry weaponry…care to do a hunt?" He asked in his gruff, slightly annoying voice (much like Migelo's).

"Is that similar along the lines of 'Care for some free candy, little girls?'" I questioned warily.

"Whatever are you talking about?" He asked me.

"Umm," I shook it off. He didn't appear to be hurtful. "Nevermind. Forget it. So what's up, a hunt?"

"Oh, thank you so much. You see," The Bangaa wayfarer pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket and unfolded it, handing it to me. I showed it to Yuko as we looked at the picture on the piece of paper. It was a badly drawn portrait of what looked like pieces of vegetables with facial expressions…and I knew that these pests that this Bangaa wanted me to kill were called the Mandragoras. "A terrible menace plagues the Sochen Cave Palace. I'm calling all hunters of all ages and races to deal with this scourge upon us."

"The Sochen Cave Palace, you say?" Yuko questioned. She went up on her tiptoes and looked at me. I bent over so she could face my ear. "Fuu-chan, isn't that where we're supposed to go to sneak into Archades?"

"Yes it is. This could be good stuff." I stood back up and faced the Bangaa wayfarer. "Sir, we will accept this bill."

"Excellent! Thanks be to ye!" He clapped his hands…for some reason. "But you see, you can't reach these little pests without a special key to the room they live in."

"Oh?" I raised an eyebrow. "And where can we find this key?"

"No need to search." The Bangaa wayfarer rummaged through his pocket and pulled out a black key. "I have it right here."

"Right on!" I snatched the key. I cleared my throat. "Thanks be to ye!" I attempted to mimic his voice.

"Be careful, I heard they're violent little buggers." He said as he walked away.

"We'll try!" I shouted back, waving a hand in the air. I then turned to Yuko, Misa, and Fini. "Did you guys catch all of that? We've found our way to Archades! We just have to take the role of pest control!"

"That's wonderful!" Yuko cheered. "Let's tell the others ASAP!" I nodded and we went over to find our party. We found Basch and Ashe, and decided to tell them first.

"You seem jittery." Ashe cocked an eyebrow at my constant jumping up and down.

"Guess what? Guess what? Guess what?" I bounced.

"What is it, Fuu?" Basch questioned, his eyes following each bounce I made.

"Basch, Ashe!" Yuko bounced in. "We found an effortless route through the Sochen Cave Palace!"

"Effortless route?" Ashe began listening more, and ignored my obnoxious bouncing. "How did you find this path?"

"Look at this." Yuko handed Ashe the bill for the hunt. "We promised a wayfarer that we would kill these Mandragoras…he even gave us the key to where they are in the area. And once we beat them, we will end up in Archades in no time at all!"

"This is certainly positive news." Ashe smiled. "Nice work, ladies."

"Aw, shucks!" I giggled.

"Now, we shall gather everyone else and head to the Sochen Cave Palace." Basch said. Ashe nodded her head and we walked about the site. As soon as everyone was back in our group, we headed to the Cave Palace entrance. It took us no time at all to get to our destination…and it was pretty obvious to which one was the cave palace entrance. A wide, creepy opening welcomed us with stalactites and stalagmites and other stalag-whatchamacallit things.

"It's dark." Yuko swallowed, grabbing my hand. I suddenly remembered Yuko's fear of the dark, and this place was, well, dark. Hopefully she won't spazz out again like in the Henne Mines…but then again, that was probably the creepiest place in Ivalice, so I don't blame her for spazzing in a place like that. "Let go, and I'll end you."

"Sheesh. I won't let go." I gulped at Yuko's threat.

"Hey," Vaan said. "You sure this rabbit hole's really the way into Archades?"

"Better a hare unseen than a rat in a trap." Balthier replied, walking closer to the entrance. "Then again, if you'd prefer to go knocking on the front gates of the city, be my guest."

"Be…my…guest, be my guest, put my servants to the test, tie a napkin 'round your neck, Cherie, as we provide the rest—." I sang. Everyone stopped and stared at me. "Sorry, I just can't resist the power of Beauty and the Beast."

"But hey, what about once we're inside the city?" Penelo asked. "Won't the city watch find us?"

"We'll do what we can to blend in with the crowd." Ashe said. "Our names may be notorious, but our faces are not far-known."

"True, true." Vaan stated. "You're our princess and we didn't even recognize you." This is when I coughed and inserted an "I did" in between. Vaan rolled his eyes and Ashe tugged a small smile.

"I noticed." She said.

"So, we going in?" Jude asked.

"Yes sir." I answered. He gave me his usual smirk and put his fist out. I blinked.

"Let's start a new thing here, Butch." He said. "Fist bump?"

"If you wanna." I gave out a chuckled and bumped his fist with my own.

"Fuu-chan...your hand." Yuko meeped.

"Oh, right. Sorry about that." I returned my hand back into Yuko's and we looked ahead into the Sochen Cave Palace. I glanced over at Balthier, who was ready to march in there any moment. He looked over at me, gave me a crooked smile, and entered. My eyes followed each smooth step he took into the cave...when I noticed that it was just me and Yuko standing outside. "Uh-oh. We should catch up to them."

"Okay." Yuko swallowed again.

"You ready?" I inhaled and exhaled slowly.

"I...I think so." Yuko nodded, fixing her posture and looking strong...the Yuko I wanted to see.

"Let's go." And with that, we marched inside to catch up with our group.

_**To Be Continued in Chapter 25!**_

**_(LOADING...LOADING...LOADING...LOADING...)_**

_(We see a spotlight on a stage...and out steps Yuko in a fancy, red, flapper-girl-like dress step out.)_

_Yuko: Welcome to the FUU-CHAN SHOW!_

_(An audience of FFXII characters appear, clapping and cheering as the rest of the stage is lit up. There are lots of seats on the stage, and the highest one in the center is where Fuu is sitting. Balthier, Vaan, Ashe, Penelo, Fran, Basch, and Jude are sitting in the other seats on the stage, and Yuko walks over to her seat. The ladies are wearing similar dresses to Yuko's, except Ashe's is pink, Fran's is purple, Penelo's is yellow, and Fuu's is turquoise. All the men are wearing fancy tuxedos with bright red bow ties.)_

_Fuu: Welcome, welcome, one and all to the Fuu-chan Show! Remember in the beginning of the chapter where everyone wrote down random little topics and put it in a top hat...well...for the next few chapters...I'm going to pull out a topic and DISCUSS AWAY!_

_Jude: (rolls eyes) Here we go._

_Fuu: And the very first topic of the show shall be...(rummages through the top hat, accompanied by a drumroll. Fuu pulls out a piece of folded paper. She unfolds it and reads the contents on the paper.) Out of the guys on stage, which one would I make out with...ALL RIGHT, WHO PUT THAT ONE IN THERE?_

_(Rozaline snickers)_

_Fuu: Grr...I thought it was someone like Rozaline...hmm...anyway..._

_Penelo: Go on and answer!_

_Vaan: Yeah...I'm kind of worried about who it'll be..._

_Fuu: Well...they all have a reason to have a little...er...fun. I mean, Basch is tough and protective...Balthier is...well...(blushes)...charming...and stuff...Jude is mysterious but is very caring-_

_Jude: (cough) I already have Lena (cough)_

_Fuu: (rolls eyes) I was aware of that. And Vaan is..._

_Vaan: Yes? Yes?_

_Fuu: He is..._

_Vaan: Go on! Out with it!_

_Fuu: Vaan is...just...blah._

_Vaan: BLAH?_

_Fuu: Blah._

_Vaan: Oh, come on! There HAS to be something good about me!_

_Penelo: Fuu speaks the truth._

_Vaan: PENELO!_

_(Yuko gets up out of her seat)_

_Yuko: I'm afraid that's all the time we have today! **Be sure to read Chapter 25 of "Going into Ivalice**", and also be sure to **review this chapter **and tell the author what you like about this story! Stay tuned for our next show at the end of Chapter 25, too! Fuu still has a lot more to talk about thanks to the topics in the hat! See you later!_

_(Fini, Misa, and Rozaline close the curtains and wave goodbye)_


	25. These Veggies Ain't No Bob and Larry!

**Going into Ivalice**

**Chapter 25: These Veggies Ain't No Bob and Larry!**

The Sochen Cave Palace, as expected, was not an entirely pleasant walk. Yuko's hand continued to grip onto mine, and we had nothing but a single torch that Jude was holding and my cell phone to give off light to lead the way.

Basically, this is how it goes down in dark, creepy places with our group, if you haven't actually caught on already: Monsters jump out and scare the bejeezus out of me, the others beat them down, rinse and repeat. It's almost become a daily routine with how frequently it's been happening, as embarrassing as it is to admit it. After a good half hour of walking, we reached a brand-new area with a door, and what appeared to be a keyhole.

"We need a key." Vaan said.

"No fear, lads and lasses!" I stepped up, holding the key that the Bangaa wayfarer gave to me, "For this brief moment, I shall be Sora from Kingdom Hearts. Watch and learn."

Of course, none of them knew my reference, and I was even met with some eye rolling, but I went on and unlocked the door anyhow. With one loud 'click', the door was unlocked.

"Do you think the Mandragoras will be behind this door?" Yuko hesitantly asked, as she clung onto Basch's leg, since I stopped holding her hand to unlock the door.

"Most likely." Ashe said.

"Well then, we best be prepared." Jude stated, "Ready everyone?" The group nodded their heads as we all looked at the door in front of us.

"Fuu, these enemies are extremely agile, so stay on your guard and don't let them wear you down." Fini said to me.

"Yup. We got this."

Fran opened the door and we each stepped inside into a very large room. All of a sudden, each Mandragora popped out of their hiding places, ready to be fought. The Mandragora Prince, Alraune King, Pumpkin Star, Onion Queen, and Topstalk were all there, ready for a battle. With my ninja sword at a ready, we all charged towards the five creatures.

But Fini wasn't kidding around when she said that these fiends were agile, because as soon as we were within a good distance with them, they all scattered around the room faster than road runners. I was already out of focus by seeing just how quick they ran off.

"Oh man," I gulped, "I really thought they weren't going to be _this_ speedy!"

"Fuu, behind you!" Fini hollered out. I turned around and the Onion Queen was charging right towards me. As I was running away from it, it bumped right into the back of my legs and I stumbled over, crying out in pain. You wouldn't believe how something that tiny could pack a punch! I even did a few somersaults because of how forceful the attack was. I landed against the wall and tried my best to get up, but I was already losing balance.

"Come on, Fuu, you can do this…" I muttered to myself, "Don't let these things beat you up."

I tried to remember my usual strategies for beating these guys in the game. I remembered that they were immune to stop, so that wouldn't be of much help. But would slow work?

The Alraune King spotted me on the opposite side of the room and beginning sprinting its way towards me, where I dodged in the nick of time, letting it run into the wall. It staggered around a bit from the massive blow to the wall and I even spun it around a few more times to keep its balance off for the time being. Fini, Misa and Rozaline headed my way, with Jude following behind. The Pumpkin Star was chasing after them, until Fran distracted it with one of her arrows. It turned around, leaving Jude alone, and turned its attention towards where the arrow came from.

"Any bright ideas for this battle, Butch?" Jude asked me.

"I think slowing them down could help a little. Other than that, we just need to be patient and strike at the right moment." I responded.

"But we don't have all day to 'strike at the right moment'!" Rozaline hissed, imitating my voice. I gave her a glare and she only seemed to glare back at me.

"Just let me think for a bit. A Legend can't have her shit together 24/7!" I said.

I looked around the room and noticed everyone's horribly failed attempts at trying to hit these things…_when they were in the center of the room._ When they're all together, things get difficult. It's just a trap to let out our attacks and swings, and before they even hit them, the Mandragoras run off!

"We have to split up and attack specific ones…" I whispered to myself.

"What was that?" Misa asked me.

"That's it!" I grinned. I ran over to the door and wondered how I could get everyone's attention through the hectic scene that was happening in front of my eyes. Balthier, Yuko and Penelo were on the opposite side of where I was, trying to attack whichever ran by them. Ashe and Vaan were on the left, healing each other for a brief moment. And Basch and Fran were on the right side, loading up some great attacks, only to fail miserably. I dodged a Topstalk during my thinking.

"Everyone! Listen up!" I shouted. Unfortunately, no one heard me. Not even Yuko-chan. "Hey, lil doggies! It's strategy time!" No matter how loud my shouts were, they were never heard over the screeches and shouts of the Mandragoras. I sighed and rubbed my temples.

"HEY, LISTEN TO FUU FOR A DAMN SECOND!"

I jumped so violently at the audible shout that it took me a good few seconds to process that Jude was the one who had shouted. The whole room had gone completely silent, even the Mandragoras stopped what they were doing! Everyone began to run over to where we were. I bet they were just as freaked out as I was at Jude's sudden outburst, but I was grinning from ear to ear.

"We each have to take one. If we focus on one, they'll be much easier to take down." I said.

"Ok, there's five of them," Jude looked over at the Mandragoras, who were in their own little huddle (which I found slightly amusing), "And there's nine of us…How's this going to work?" It was smart that he left out the game guardians in his grand total, although I'm sure they wanted to be included as well.

"Penelo and I will take the Onion Queen." Vaan said. Penelo nodded her head in agreement.

"I will take Yuko and we will take down the Topstalk." Basch said as Yuko grabbed a hold of his hand.

"Fran and I will aim at the Alraune King." Ashe stepped forward. Fran said nothing, but by the look in her eyes, she was down with the plan.

"And how about me, Jude and Balthier handle the Pumpkin Star? And then we can all take down the Mandragora Prince together." I suggested.

"Sounds like a strategy worth attempting." Balthier smiled. "Are we ready to attack?"

"Ready when you are." Jude replied.

Once the Mandragoras got out of their personal huddle, they ran about in different directions, just like the very beginning of battle.

"Let's go, everyone!" I shouted. We all ran to our targets. We managed to find the Pumpkin Star on the left side of the room. It took a while to chase it down, but it managed to slow down with the help of Fini, Misa and Rozaline grabbing a hold of it to block its vision, and I managed to cast a little bit of a slow spell to decrease its movements. While it attempted to shake off the pixies, I tackled it to the ground, where it tried to squirm out from underneath me. "You're not going anywhere!"

Balthier and Jude caught up to me and they immediately started attacking it. After many punches and gunshots later, the Pumpkin Star faded away. One down. All the pixies gave each other high-fives, even Rozaline, as I looked to see how everyone else was doing.

Penelo used her evanescence quickening attack to finish off the Onion Queen, who began to fade away much like the Pumpkin Star did. Basch let out one last sword attack (after it was Soaped by Yuko) as it had begun to fade away as well. And with an arrow through its head, the Alraune King began to disappear as well. The plan had worked!

"Four down, one to go." Jude smirked.

The Mandragora Prince, being surrounded by everyone, had nowhere to run or hide.

"Who would like to do the honors?" Balthier asked. "Any volunteers?"

"Me! Pick me!" I shot my hand up.

"Ah, yes, how about the young lady in the back!"

"But, I'm right here, Balthier—,"

"Yes!"

I noticed that Balthier had picked Yuko. I was a bit bummed, but seeing the look on her face as she charged up Soapy was enough to cheer me up almost instantly. With the evil soap going into its eyes, it began to fade away as well, before it vanished completely, like its other fallen comrades. We all managed to stop the Mandragoras.

"I can't believe that actually worked." I said to myself, smiling a little.

"You know, Butch," Jude placed his hand on my shoulder, which was forceful and almost like a smack, "You're not a bad strategist for a bit of an idiot."

Despite him calling me an idiot directly to my face, I just took it as a compliment. I looked around and everyone seemed to be equally as proud with their teamwork.

"Come on, chickadees!" I said, running to the door on the left side of the room, "We gotta get to Archades!"

…

It actually didn't seem to take much longer before we finally got out of the Sochen Cave Palace. We reached a save crystal, which made our clothes and appearances nice and fresh once more, before leaving the area. We then reached a small town.

"Ugh. Smells less like a capital, and more like a sewer." Vaan snorted.

"Even Empires have needs for sewers," Balthier replied, "The runoff from Archades proper pools here. Those who lack papers to live in the city itself. The mighty who have fallen, and the fallen who would be mighty. Their eyes never leave Archades."

I looked around at the surroundings and noticed all the buildings that looked as if they were decaying ever-so-slowly, the vines of ivy that plagued every block of cement…and the people who were sitting in street corners or next to chipped pottery, just looking absolutely miserable.

"I guess it must be a lot nicer than this place." Vaan said, as if he read my mind completely.

"Oh, to be sure. Archades reeks of a different filth…" Balthier walked forward, turning around to look at our group of colorful characters, that were surely catching the eyes of citizens in the area, "Let's be off! We can follow our noses to Draklor."

We all walked forward, trying to watch our steps from stray stones or jagged rocks sticking up from the ground, which unfortunately I tripped over countless of times. As I was looking down to watch my step, something flitted by my nose.

"WHA?"

The bat-like wings…another game guardian?

"Blanca!" Fini squealed.

"Blanca?" I repeated. Yuko and Jude looked over and noticed that there was a game guardian flittering beside Fini, Misa and Rozaline.

"Everyone, this is Blanca! She's an old friend of mine!" Fini said excitedly, introducing her friend. She had pure white hair tied in a long French braid, a black ribbon securing it. She wore a long gray dress with multiple purple jewelry, including a dazzling sash embedded with purple gems. She bowed her head in welcoming.

"Wait, does that mean there's another human here?" I questioned.

"None that we can sense." Misa replied.

"There is not." Blanca responded with her very soft, meek voice.

"Then how come we are able to see you?" Yuko asked.

"Game guardians are usually found in both Archades and Old Archades, it's rather common," Fini replied, "I used to work here a lot before I was purchased."

"Purchased?" I asked.

"Whenever you bought the game, Fuu." Fini sighed.

"Oh, right!"

"Game guardians usually have specific duties to do when they are not purchased, just going around Ivalice and making sure there aren't any freaky glitches or mishaps," Rozaline stated, "Or they rebuild some scenery. I'm sure Blanca isn't the only one here who is making Old Archades look the part."

"So, in other words, these little fairies are just 'freshening' up the place?" Jude asked.

"Precisely." Blanca said.

"So you don't have a human yet?" I asked Blanca.

"Not yet, but I will someday. But I do not mind this job I possess. I have many other friends who have not been purchased yet," Blanca smiled, almost in a sad way, "But I never thought I would see you three again. Playing pranks on Fini again, Misa?"

"Not yet. I've been cooking up some ideas, but with the journey, I've never really had time to test them out." Misa chuckled to herself. I could almost feel Fini cringing in fear when she heard this.

"And have you finished your anger management sessions, Rozaline? So far, you seem calm and collected—,"

"That's not supposed to be spoken about!" Rozaline roared angrily.

"Oops, forgive me," Blanca bowed, "But up ahead you'll see many of the game guardians doing their duties. You should say hi to a few of them."

"We will…after we catch up with the group." Misa said. I looked ahead and noticed that everyone was already way far ahead of us from where we stopped.

"OH SHIZ." I took Yuko's hand and motioned for Jude to come along, "We have to go, Blanca! It was nice meeting you!"

"Take care!" Fini called out to her friend.

"I will." Blanca floated in mid-air, smiling and waving with her pale little hand.

"I had no idea that game guardians could be around without a human alongside them." Yuko said.

"Yeah, they just have different jobs than us, because the game they run hasn't been purchased by a human yet," Misa said, "They usually hang around Archades the most, because of how large and populated it is."

"Why didn't we see any in Rabanastre?" I asked.

"That place doesn't need too much supervision," Rozaline stated, "People are usually very cooperative in that location."

"But not so much in Archades, where there's always some trouble brewing." Jude said.

"Exactly." Fini and I said at the exact same time as we finally caught up with everyone. Funny how they didn't even seem to notice that we were gone for a good five minutes or so. We continued to walk through the sorry-looking town until and Imperial Guard stopped our group. Thank goodness it wasn't Garbuden.

"Where are ye credentials? You should know that you cannot enter the Imperial City of Archades without the proper credentials." The guard strictly stated.

"I'm afraid we do not possess them at this time—," Ashe began.

"Then you can't get inside! Go back whence you came!"

"How dare you –!" I had my fists in a bunch and was ready to strut up to him, but Basch and Vaan held me back.

"We will return with the credentials you seek." Basch said, covering my mouth before I could say any more outbursts. The guard let out a "hmph!" and we all turned around, at a loss. Basch and Vaan finally let go as I gasped for air.

"I could've summoned an Esper to rid of his inconsiderate ass." I growled.

"And get ourselves arrested?" Vaan questioned.

"It could've gotten us SOMEWHERE in the city." I pouted.

"Well, well, well," An unfamiliar voice intruded in our little spat. We all turned to see a young man, no older than Balthier, approaching our group. I began to remember this guy from my game playing experience, "There's a sight for sore eyes! Didn't think I'd be seeing you again. Not here."

I remembered this young man's named was Jules.

"Oh wonderful. Enter the streetear." Balthier folded his arms over his chest.

"You know this guy?" Vaan asked him.

"Jules, right?" I asked, peering at the slightly tanned young man.

"Y-yes. I beg your pardon, have we met before?" Jules glanced at me, then at Balthier, then back at me.

"Nope, we haven't." I winked. I held out my hand, where he just stared at it, puzzled. "My name is Fuu. Pleased to meet you!" He only proceeded to stare at my hand, a stupid grin still plastered on my face, as he seemed more confused than ever. The smile on my face slowly diminished into an annoyed grimace as I slowly and awkwardly put my hand back down.

"Do you know a way into the city?" Vaan asked Jules.

"In Archades, knowledge is power. And power has a way of opening doors, friends," He looked at me and Vaan, and then again at Balthier, "A fool will buy a sack of pillow, but a wise man…he'll buy the whole stinking cockatrice and get his fill of meat into the bargain. So, wise men," He placed his hands on Vaan and my shoulders, "How does 1500 gil sound?"

I looked over at our group, and they all just seemed to shrug.

"If it's a way in, we have no other choice, I suppose." Basch stated. I heard Balthier let out a snort of some kind.

"Who carries the currency?" Ashe asked.

"That would be me…" I sighed, taking off my backpack and unzipping it the bottom half of it, where it stored all of the gil we collected. I was still unsure of what coin equaled what, so I had Vaan help me calculate the right amount. After a minute or two, we were holding 1500 gil in the palms of our hands. I looked over at the group one more time, just in case they wanted to save 1500 gil and spend it on something else…but they all seemed sure with themselves, so I placed the money in Jules' hands.

"Well done. You learn fast," Jules put the money in his pocket as he gave us a toothy grin, "I call this meeting to order. Have you heard any rumors lately?"

"Oh, I got one!" I said, "Apparently some kid at my school was caught spray painting in the boy's locker room! He wrote about how one girl in my grade was such a—!" I didn't realize I let my mouth run and everyone was staring at me. I giggled nervously and blushed as I began to hide behind Fran.

"Um, actually, I did hear about a man who picked a bag of coins out of a barrel." Vaan said. Jules seemed much more pleased with this rumor than my own.

"I thought mine was good. Or I could've used the one about the homeschooled kid." I muttered.

"Homeschooled kid?" Jude asked.

"Apparently some kids in my school were spreading around a rumor about how some boy in my class was homeschooled…" I said. "But the thing is…the kid went to school…so how could he be homeschooled?"

"That's even more lame." Jude snorted, as Rozaline began giggling like mad. I flushed from even more sheer embarrassment.

After a minute, Vaan walked up to everyone.

"We have to find a man named Beasley." He said.

"What for?" Penelo asked.

"We have to tell him that rumor. About the coins in the barrel." Vaan replied.

"You sure we can trust this kook?" Jude questioned. "I'm not sure how this will get us into the imperial city."

"Just you wait, Jude," I said, "This may seem pretty stupid at first—,"

"Like your rumors." Rozaline said. I rolled my eyes.

"—but we'll get in with this. Trust me."

"Penelo, Fuu, Jude, Yuko and I will find Beasley," Vaan said, "The rest of you stay put. We shouldn't be too long."

"Why me?" I asked.

"Because you're the Legend, you should know what Beasley looks like." Vaan replied.

"Good point." I sighed. "All right, all right. I'll show you to this Beasley dude."

And with that, the five of us, along with the three game guardians trailing behind, began exploring Old Archades.

**To be Continued**


End file.
